<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Introduction:</i></b> This case study's purpose is to make visible the skills and knowledge necessary for the instant localization of screen readers. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>About the case:</i></b> The case study examines the work of localization experts at a nonprofit organization in Hungary, who localize the proprietary Job Access with Speech (JAWS) screen reader software and support its target users. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Situating the case:</i></b> The study was informed by research in translation studies and localization-focused literature within the field of technical and professional communication. Research on accessible usability and software design was also consulted. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Methods/approach:</i></b> Participant observations and interviews with employees of the nonprofit organization and with the software's users were conducted. Data were transcribed, then coded using qualitative data-analysis methods. Codes that emerged from the data were grouped into themes to create a narrative interwoven with quotes about the activities of localization experts. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Results/discussion:</i></b> The findings from this study show that the instant localization process used by localization experts of this software requires a specific set of skills in addition to those used in project-based approaches to localization. Additional language and communication skills, as well as programming knowledge to develop additional program features and training materials, were found to be essential for addressing all users’ needs. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Technical and professional communication practitioners can contribute to the localization of adaptive technologies through their strong usability, user experience, and communication skills.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>About the case:</i></b> While several established user-experience research (UXR) methods can reach far-away users (e.g., remote usability testing), the digital divide makes implementation difficult, especially for rural populations facing barriers to transportation and high-speed internet. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Situating the case:</i></b> Web surveys can eliminate these concerns by providing customization for specific use cases, gathering both qualitative and quantitative data, and combining multiple questionnaires and/or UXR methods within them. Our case study demonstrates an instance where our lab—Auburn University's Lab for Usability, Communication, Interaction, and Accessibility—used advocacy-based HCD and design thinking (DT) to develop a nonstandard UXR Qualtrics web survey to solve our client's wicked problem: designing a usability test for rural audiences unable to travel to our lab while also considering time constraints and technological literacy. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Methods:</i></b> Our survey design followed the Nielsen Norman Group's adaptation of DT, and our process was informed by academic research on: 1. Survey design, question formats, and response bias, 2. Existing user-experience (UX)/usability methods, and 3. Mixed-methods approaches to UXR. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Discussion:</i></b> Our work suggests this tool can potentially serve as the UX testing situation itself, implementing multiple in-person research methods (i.e., heatmapping, user interviews, card sorting) virtually. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Conclusion:</i></b> We conclude with six survey design suggestions and a discussion of how this nonstandard UXR tool can reach underrepresented or vulnerable populations, serving to empower and advocate for users. We suggest that using DT to ideate new UXR methods is a means for UXR practitioners conducting future studies to better address the wicked problems they will face.

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Background:</b></i> Technical and professional communication (TPC) poses a challenge to international professionals (IPs) who are not L1 English speakers or professional communicators. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Literature review:</b></i> There are numerous linguistically low-resource industries which represent high economic and cultural value domestically and internationally. Such is the case of the wine and olive oil sectors in Spain, which have a significant global projection, though their communication in English is often labeled as deficient. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research questions:</b></i> This study explores the needs, attitudes, and challenges faced by IPs of these fields in Spain. The aim is to be able to develop appropriate actions and tools that help improve the communicative process in this and other linguistically low-resource technical communication scenarios. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research methodology:</b></i> To define the dynamics in which low-resource L2 English professionals participate, we carried out a demographic study. Specifically, a national survey was conducted focusing on the writing of tasting notes as domain-specific texts produced by Spanish L2 English professionals of the fields. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Results:</b></i> The results show that IPs use language service providers when they can afford it. Otherwise, they employ mainly Machine Translation, risking textual quality and communicative success. Nevertheless, participants show awareness of the relevance of participating in international communication using adequate linguistic means. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Conclusion:</b></i> We conclude that IPs from linguistically low-resource domains strive to find means to engage in international TPC but cannot find adequate tools for it. Institutional and research efforts need to materialize for all segments of society to benefit from language policy and technological advancements.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Background:</i></b> The movement in recent decades from the waterfall model to the Agile framework, especially in software development, has transformed the nature of technical communication throughout product development processes. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Literature review:</i></b> Although several researchers have studied the roles of effective technical communication in Agile environments, more insights are needed, especially in how teams adapt Agile communication principles to fit their circumstances. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Research questions:</i></b> 1. How do people communicate effectively throughout phases of the Agile development process? 2. How do participants adapt typical Agile/Scrum communication practices to address challenges and fit their circumstances? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Methodology:</i></b> In this qualitative observational study, we interviewed and observed professionals to explore technical communication practices throughout phases of the Agile development process and to explore how teams used and modified common Agile/Scrum practices in given contexts. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Results:</i></b> We investigate the nature of effective technical communication throughout the typical phases of the Agile process and note a variety of ways in which participants modified conventional practices to fit their situations. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Participants highlighted the indispensability of effective technical communication in Agile processes and developed innovative ways to adapt communication practices based on their unique experiences and situations throughout the development process. The findings illuminate useful practices and offer implications that will benefit organizations, practicing professionals, students, and educators.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Background:</i></b> Technical and professional communication and user experience (UX) have become intertwined as sister disciplines. Graduates of technical communication programs are pursuing jobs in UX and researchers in technical communication are studying UX. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Literature review:</i></b> At the same time, little attention has been paid to the skills required for jobs such as UX designer and UX researcher, though one landmark study a decade ago was the first to detail such trends. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Research questions:</i></b> 1. What language do employers use to explain UX job skills? 2. What specific job titles do employers describe when advertising UX positions to potential applicants? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Research methodology:</i></b> As part of an ongoing research project examining nearly 15,000 job ads from the US, in this article, we will analyze a corpus of UX job ads for trends including specific roles that are emerging within UX as definable occupations. We do so by identifying trends in keyword usage across job ads, as well as zeroing in on skill sets that seem important to employers looking to hire UX professionals. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Results/discussion:</i></b> Our findings extend previous research to detail stronger differentiation between the skill sets required of UX designers and UX researchers, as well as revealing new roles previously unexamined in past literature. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Several new skill sets emerging in UX are important to introduce to students, including new visual design tools, product design skills, and project management skills. We owe it to our students to continue to track skills that emerge in this fast-moving field.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</b> Constructivism is a prevalent theory in technical and professional communication (TPC) pedagogy that extends to various aspects of learning, including textbook design. This study considers the way that learners interact with textbooks and how incorporating constructivist design elements is important for both instructors and students. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> Previous research has highlighted the importance of textbook design in facilitating learning and the ways that textbooks reflect ideology. However, there is limited literature on the role of constructivist principles in textbook design and their impact on learners and faculty. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. What design elements in textbooks align with a constructivist pedagogy? 2. To what extent do textbooks in TPC follow a constructivist design? 3. Do students and faculty prefer constructivist designs? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research methodology:</b> The study employed a heuristic review using a novel heuristic, the Constructivist Textbook Rubric, to evaluate a sample of eight technical communication textbooks. Following this, comparative usability testing was conducted with both professors and students to assess preferences and learning outcomes. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results:</b> The study resulted in the development of a comprehensive tool for evaluating textbooks based on alignment with constructivist design principles and learning theory. Both the heuristic review and user testing demonstrated advantages associated with textbooks that incorporated constructivist elements in their design. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusion:</b> The findings suggest that textbooks designed with constructivist principles can improve learning outcomes for both learners and faculty. By using the Constructivist Textbook Rubric, college instructors can make informed decisions when selecting textbooks, ultimately benefiting learners through enhanced information synthesis and retention.

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Background:</b></i> Instructors in STEM fields help prepare students to be effective communicators in the workplace, partially through instruction of professional genres such as client-facing reports. At the same time, class sizes are increasing, and writing assessment often falls to teaching assistants (TAs). <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Literature review:</b></i> Research suggests that TAs possess a maturing but inchoate sense of writing in their field, which potentially complicates their ability to deliver quality feedback. This study uses frame semantics, a form of discourse analysis, to probe TAs for their beliefs about writing in statistics. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research questions:</b></i> 1. When asked to describe the function and role of writing in statistics, what lexical verbs do TA informants use? 2. What frames are invoked by those verbs? 3. How do the invoked semantic frames position writing in relation to disciplinary and professional work in the field? <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research methodology:</b></i> This study interviewed three TAs from an introductory statistics course about their perceptions of writing in statistics. Frame semantics was used to analyze TA responses. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Results:</b></i> Less experienced TAs tended to perceive writing as a means of presentation, which entailed a weak sense of the role of rhetoric in technical communication and a muddied understanding of writing assessment. The more advanced TA perceived writing as a means of contextualizing statistical evidence for particular audiences. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Conclusion:</b></i> Due to their maturing perceptions of writing in their disciplines, TAs might not possess the ability to deliver quality formative feedback. One means of support for these TAs may be opportunities to discuss assessment decisions with one another, thereby calibrating against available expectations and rubrics.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Introduction:</b> This article provides a critical interface analysis of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website to reveal how systemic oppressions embedded in governmental websites create injustice among minoritized communities. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> We situate this research within the existing scholarship about the multilingual user interface, usability studies, and the issues of linguistic social justice as it intersects with technical and professional communication. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. How does the USCIS website's content cater to diverse immigrant populations in terms of usability, specifically considering Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for accessible websites? 2. From a user-experience perspective, are the USCIS website navigation tools obtrusive in presenting information? Are there issues of power and privilege through the inclusion/exclusion of certain voices? 3. What ideological and cultural assumptions does its interface design impart to diverse website users through its tools, content organization logic, and visual style? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research method:</b> Working under the critical interface analysis framework and adopting a walkthrough approach, we analyze the official website of the USCIS. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results/discussion:</b> The USCIS website prioritizes English or Spanish proficiency, potentially excluding users with other diverse language backgrounds. First-time users lack immediate access to essential features, and the site overlooks the needs of its diverse immigrant population, with limited language options, multimedia resources, and occasional discrepancies in content. Using terms like “alien” contradicts the inclusive image the US aims for. The Multilingual Resource Center faces document translation shortages, contributing to a potential digital divide. Inclusive design choices are crucial for creating a welcoming environment and addressing these concerns. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusion:</b> These findings have implications for understanding the rhetorics of immigration policy, power, identity, and government perceptions.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Introduction:</b> It has long been advocated that engineers should enhance their social and ethical responsibilities. With the rapid advancement of science and technology, this imperative becomes increasingly pressing. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">About the case:</b> This teaching case took place in a public research university in China. The primary objective is to enhance engineering students’ understanding of their social responsibilities. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Situating the case:</b> This study is an exploration of the application of design fiction, a commonly utilized practice in interaction design, within the context of a technical writing course. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methods/approach:</b> Within the study, participants were tasked to engage in creating speculative scenarios of future food in 2040. This scenario revolved around an imaginary technology related to food, envisioning its impact on people's lives and society. Through a structured process of guided speculation and critical reflection, participants wove together fragments of these future scenarios to craft complete fictional narratives. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results/discussion:</b> The result of this investigation revealed that the fictions generated by participants encompass a diverse array of elements that manifest the writers’ heightened awareness of social responsibilities. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusion:</b> We contend that this study introduces an innovative and engaging approach to the teaching of technical writing, one that holds promise as a valuable complement to the existing curriculum. Moreover, within the sphere of engineering education, this research underscores the potential of design fiction in nurturing a deeper understanding of social responsibilities among engineers, particularly on a “macroethical” scale.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Introduction:</b> Modern virtual-reality (VR) systems afford opportunities to study how writers adapt their everyday writing practices to virtual environments while adjusting to real-world materiality. Based on a multi-institutional study of writers’ activities, this tutorial offers recommendations for designing and conducting test sessions to capture the user experience of first-time VR users in simulated writing scenarios. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Key concepts:</b> We situate VR within existing literature regarding design, human–computer interaction, usability, and the notions of presence, embodiment, and materiality. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Key lessons:</b> We present five key lessons to consider for testing writing in VR. 1. Space matters when studying participants writing with technologies. 2. Some VR applications are exclusive to devices. 3. A focus on brief tasks anticipates what writers will encounter when they write with a VR headset for the first time ever or in a professional context. 4. For understanding embodied actions, researchers should also capture the first-person view of the participant wearing the designated headset. 5. Media-rich transcripts create records of what was spoken in the sessions as well as notating, through text and media, what actions were taken by participants. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Implications for practice:</b> VR research depends on institutional infrastructure, embodied participation, and researcher intervention to adjust usability testing and mental models. These challenges provide exciting opportunities for TPC research and classroom projects that introduce VR.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</b> Technical communication job advertisements can indicate current and future trends for pedagogy and practice, and for the development of the profession. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> Although recent research has explored US technical communication job ads, no study to date has examined advertisements specifically for technical writer roles based in the UK. The unique academic and industrial context in the UK warrants such a study. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. What role do educational qualifications play in the UK technical communication job market? 2. What skills and competencies do employers see as part of technical communication roles in the UK job market? 3. What are the sectors in which technical communicators are employed in the UK? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methodology:</b> This study involves a quantitative and qualitative analysis of job advertisements collected over a one-week period from LinkedIn and Indeed, and two prominent job search aggregator platforms in the UK. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results/discussion:</b> Despite the absence of formal third-level technical communication academic programs in the UK, the terms “technical writer” and “technical author” are prominent in the job market. Where educational requirements are included in advertisements, these tend to be domain-specific. Software development is the leading employment sector, with available jobs distributed across a range of additional sectors. Personal characteristics and competencies required are broadly in line with previous research. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusion:</b> Our findings suggest key competencies associated with the specific job title “technical writer/author.” They are a springboard for further qualitative research—e.g., using interviews—to explore the profiles and boundaries in technical communication in the UK. A mixed-methods study that includes job ads, questionnaires, and in-person observations would enable further classification of technical communication roles.

Introduction: This article presents the results of an integrative literature review on artificial-intelligence (AI) literacy and AI ethics in technical and professional communication (TPC). This article demonstrates how these concepts have or have not been discussed and studied by the field. By analyzing the literature from adjacent fields and trade journals, this article sets the groundwork for pedagogies and best practices that prepare technical and professional communicators to evaluate AI technologies using ethical perspectives. Research methodology: We used the hermeneutic methodology to conduct a systematic literature review that allowed repeated cycles of searching, filtering, and interpretation across wide-ranging, interdisciplinary academic sources. Following this method to include and exclude sources resulted in a total of 32 articles that describe different case studies, frameworks, theories, and other pedagogical activities to incorporate AI ethics literacy in the curriculum. Results and discussion: Recent trends within AI ethics education document and advocate for a redesign of educational programs and curricula. To be more intentional in adopting AI ethics in pedagogy, we propose a thre -level framework (consisting of institutional, course, and instruction levels) that can be aligned to include AI ethics literacy in course and program objectives and outcomes. By drawing from technical communication work on AI literacy and mapping other TPC work that can be utilized for teaching AI ethics, we recommend incorporating AI ethics in existing courses or new ones. We also list the challenges of choosing one approach over another. Conclusions and further research: A systematic approach to AI pedagogy can help TPC instructors use existing resources to help students use, understand, and evaluate AI technology in strategic ways. This research can be expanded to include new pedagogical approaches, and by drawing connections of AI ethics to specific TPC theory, especially social justice and audience analysis.

Background: Students in technical communication classes need to develop expert-like competence in project schedule management to prepare for academic and career success. We address two aspects of project schedule management—estimating time and estimating the number of drafts—that affect undergraduate computer science students in linked computer science–technical communication courses as they prepare documents for their client-based team project. Literature review: Our research considers three areas (developing expert-like behaviors, estimating time, and estimating the number of drafts) that students need to address in their coursework with complex, client-based problems. Research question: What percentage of students accurately estimate, overestimate, or underestimate the time needed to complete project tasks in face-to-face and hybrid sections? We define accurately estimating time as an expert-like behavior and categorize both generating documents and estimating the number of drafts as project tasks. Research methodology: To discuss this research question, we introduce the participants, explain our informed consent, describe our survey instrument for collecting data, and detail our research design. Results/discussion: We present student estimations in two categories: estimated versus actual time to complete assignments and the number of estimated versus actual drafts completed. We learn that students misjudge the amount of time and the number of drafts needed to complete a project, suggesting that technical communication coursework can better prepare students in developing these competencies.

Research problem: In our increasingly globalized world, the fields of technical and professional communication (TPC) and translation studies (TS) share many points of contact, especially among practitioners. However, within academia, the fields remain largely siloed. To help bridge the gaps between TPC and TS, to advance interdisciplinary research in the two fields, and understand how technical communication and translation can be discursively integrated, this article offers an integrative literature review of research in TPC and TS that focuses on intersections between the two fields. Research questions: 1. What are the research questions, purposes, and objectives in the research under study? 2. Who is represented in the literature, and what languages do they speak? Methodology: To understand how the fields are converging, we conducted a staged integrative literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters in TPC and TS. Next, we performed a thematic analysis to investigate patterns across the collected literature. Results and conclusions: Our analysis suggests five themes that help connect research and practice in TPC and TS, including pedagogical approaches for training students for careers in international technical communication and translation; collaborations among practitioners in both fields; questions of social justice, language diversity, and language access; available resources and tools; and the role of culture in translation. We conclude by advocating for a stronger integration of the two fields and by suggesting how to build on the foundations of research work conducted in the five identified themes.

Introduction: Linguistic research and technological developments have influenced the habits of numerous language and nonlanguage practitioners. However, the wide offering of writing tools is often scattered and does not always reach potential users in a systematized way. Research methodology: This integrative literature review examines scholarly publications to identify writing assistance tools that may serve international and multilingual professionals in different fields. Tools are characterized by working languages, domains, writing stage of application, functionalities, underlying technologies, origin, and type of access. Results and discussion: The analysis reveals that most tools are multilingual, scarce in terms of domains of specialization, and designed to be used in the writing stage, rather than prewriting or postwriting. Natural language generation, translation, implementation of suggestions, and integration into other software are the most common functionalities, often in combination with others. Language-model- based and language-generation tools predominate, followed by neural machine translation and pattern-matching technology. Conclusions and further research: This literature review provides a compendium of writing assistance tools and a framework for their classification. Nevertheless, professionals’ writing needs differ widely, and writing technologies evolve rapidly, so these findings will need to be updated or complemented by different data collection and analytical approaches. One thing is certain: professionals need to stay up to date not only through traditionally reliable sources, but also through nonacademic media that allow them to learn about the latest developments in the field.

Background and key aims: As a result of economic, social, and technological changes, companies wishing to compete in the global economy see both technical communication and translation as integral to continued relevance. The purpose of our research is to identify the evolutionary convergence of technical communication and translation through an analysis of published academic studies. Method: We conducted an integrative literature review for the period extending from 2000 to 2022. We selected publications from online bibliographic databases and then followed a staged review process aimed at identifying relevant studies. We carried out an overall thematic analysis, complemented by an analysis of subgroups of sources. We also looked at the “initial drivers” behind studies. Then, we explored possibilities for using network visualizations to account for the interaction between papers and the associated relevance both disciplinarily and globally. Results and discussion: The themes of field convergence and localization are represented consistently throughout the two-decade period. The need for virtual team collaboration accelerated during the second decade, largely because of online collaborative projects between students of technical communication and students of translation. Surprisingly, technology was the focus of only a minority of papers. Exploratory use of visualization tools showed that there still is a lack of overlap in terms of scholarly attention across the US and Europe. Conclusions: Our study shows thematic convergence in scholarship in the two disciplines. Future similar studies might gain from using network visualizations to better illustrate the interaction between studies.

Introduction: Graduates with master's degrees in Translation and Interpreting (MTI) are an important workforce in technical communication. To meet this need, we examined the pedagogy of trans-writing to better integrate technical communication (TC) into translation programs. This teaching case from two Chinese universities discusses the curriculum design, its implementation, and teaching effectiveness. Situating the case: While an increasing number of universities in China are interested in embedding TC courses into their translation programs, no research-backed effective solution has been identified. About the case: To boost the employability of MTI students, we designed the courses as “user-centered trans-writing with global content,” which features trans-writing as a strategy for global content creation, user research as the core learning task, and team projects as the primary form of engagement. Methods: We used a mixed method of interviews and surveys to investigate the course effectiveness, each targeting different groups of stakeholders. Results: We synthesized a competence framework for trans-writers based on interviews, which showed that graduates (who work as trans-writers) and their employers prioritized language/culture, user-centered mindset, and cooperation as core competencies. A survey focusing on other graduates who took our courses but did not become trans-writers also revealed positive learning outcomes, including expanded professional visions and enhanced skills in user awareness, project management, collaboration, and communication. Conclusion: The trans-writing approach is effective in equipping MTI students with the necessary competencies for global technical communication.

Introduction: Many technical and professional communication (TPC) students, practitioners, and instructors are not trained translators or localizers. However, translation and localization competencies are important in today's interconnected world and should be part of international TPC instruction. To meet this need, TPC instruction may incorporate exposure to translation issues into coursework and explore the growing use of technologies in the translation process. About the case: Recognizing the need to incorporate translation and localization (T&L) into a graduate seminar on “Global Technical Communication” (GTC), the course's instructor and students co-constructed a unique translation assignment that embraced the limitations created by most instructors’ and students’ lack of exposure to or experience with the translation process. Situating the case: TPC education has been criticized for focusing increasingly on TPC and writing classrooms as the object of study rather than sites where students eventually work and apply their knowledge. While study abroad programs or globally connected learning communities are ideal for teaching “real-world” T&L skills, substantial material limitations can impede their widespread adoption. Methods/approach: This experience report was co-authored by the instructor and TPC students from the 2020 and 2022 iterations of the GTC graduate seminar. We describe the translation assignment, its development, and the groups’ final submissions and reflections. Results/discussion: Students’ group and instructor reflections suggest the assignment's potential to facilitate closer engagement with real-world global TPC processes, deeper consideration of language and culture's relationship in TPC, and developing appropriate levels of confidence in working on similar projects as TPC researchers or practitioners. Conclusions: Our experience report provides proof of concept for how we might begin introducing T&L practices to TPC students in low-stakes but meaningful assignments.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Background:</i></b> Technologies are increasingly being deployed in facilitating participatory healthcare. Global governments developed a variety of digital platforms, such as mobile contact tracing apps, to help the public navigate risks and uncertainties during the COVID-19 pandemic. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Literature review:</i></b> Contrary to normative approaches to information design (IxD), the global spread of COVID-19 revealed the need for an alternative design framework (i.e., concept-driven design) to help develop mobile health (mHealth) apps that can support a broader portrayal of information value in IxD. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Research questions:</i></b> 1. In response to COVID-19, what affordances are prioritized by the designers of these global mHealth apps? What do these priorities tell us about design intents and information value? 2. What interpretive framework can we use to understand mHealth designers’ intent across different geopolitical contexts? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Research methodology:</i></b> We captured screenshots of the three apps in the US, India, and China, as well as a website in Ghana. Using touchpoints as the unit of analysis, we conducted an inventory and affinity mapping to visualize the architecture of each app and categorize touchpoints based on their affordances. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Results:</i></b> The comparison of apps across countries displays shared and divergent priorities in their touchpoints, affordances, and information depth. We developed an interpretive framework for understanding mHealth design intent across numerous contexts—Common Interpretive Framework for Design Analysis (CIFDA)—incorporating both linear analysis and recursive analysis of touchpoints, affordances, and depth. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Touchpoints in mHealth applications can be designed, but they can also be measured and analyzed, and they can in return help us understand the designer's intent and expected user experience.

Introduction: We introduce our initiative to integrate professional preparedness electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) within an undergraduate mechanical engineering program. EPortfolios provide students with a visual way to illustrate examples of their skills and can help set them apart in employment applications and interviews. About the case: To better prepare our students to communicate their preparedness to potential employers, we integrated ePortfolios within existing undergraduate design courses. We also designed a new portfolio studio course. Situating the case: This teaching case is situated through previous literature on professional preparedness ePortfolios. We limit our scope to studies within engineering and technical communication disciplines. Methods/approach: We integrated ePortfolio instruction and an accompanying ePortfolio artifact assignment requirement within three design classes in our undergraduate Mechanical Engineering curriculum. We assessed assignments and surveyed participants to understand students’ takeaways and approaches on the ePortfolio classroom instruction and assignment. Results/discussion: Results from 147 assignment submissions across three classes indicated that although most assignment submissions demonstrated effective communication of engineering skills, a considerable number of submissions lacked in clarity, professionalism, or relevance. Extended instructional time on ePortfolios could benefit students. More focused instruction could be integrated into existing courses or in a stand-alone portfolio studio course. Our design of this future course was informed by our assessment of student artifacts as well as what we learned about students’ perceptions of ePortfolios from the 130 survey responses. Conclusions: We share lessons learned for teachers from multiple disciplines interested in integrating professional preparedness ePortfolios within their curricula.

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Background:</b></i> Virtual reality (VR) has been studied as a potential tool for preparing technical and professional communication (TPC) practitioners to contribute to emerging technologies. However, no present research in TPC has focused on the methodological value of VR as a sociotechnical research site. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the methodological value of VR by documenting the processes and methods employed by a student researcher in understanding the ways VR affect community building. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Literature review:</b></i> Humanists have explored and theorized virtuality from various perspectives. Social researchers have explored the use of VR in multiple sectors. Yet, TPC has not established a steady agenda for studying VR as a research site. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research questions:</b></i> 1. What can we learn from a student researcher's experience of conducting social research in VR? 2. What were the methodological challenges in VR interviews? 3. How can TPC scholars use VR for research? <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research methodology:</b></i> Using ethnographic approaches including interviewing, affinity mapping, and reviewing of VR environments, this study collected insights about performing research with VR and its implications for TPC researchers. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Results:</b></i> The study's participant shared their experience with using VR to conduct research. Five categorial themes were identified from the interview: interactivity, reach, usability, positionality, and tactics. Four VR applications were reviewed. Additional methodological strategies were discussed to prepare TPC practitioners for using VR as a research technology. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Conclusion:</b></i> TPC researchers should consider VR as a viable research technology to expand the methodological means of TPC studies.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research problem:</b> A considerable amount of scholarship has amassed over the last 20 years regarding the teaching of user experience (UX) design, but there has been no systematic attempt to review this literature. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1.What is the definition of UX pedagogy according to technical communication and adjacent fields? 2. What is the state of specific UX pedagogical approaches in technical communication and adjacent fields? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> Our corpus contained 76 sources directly pertaining to the teaching of UX. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research methodology:</b> The theoretical framework of this study marries rhetorical theory and critical thinking. The former provides technical communication literature reviews with keen discourse analysis and the latter offers objectivity to the evaluation. To use this framework, we sought sources using journals related to technical communication and large databases from adjacent fields, including the ACM digital library and IEEE Xplore. We completed our search using Google Scholar to ensure broad coverage. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results and conclusions:</b> Our review of sources revealed a variety of trends and a remarkably diverse conversation on UX, including various definitions of UX pedagogy, and a large variety of theoretical orientations, educational models, instructional approaches, industry influences, methods, and ethical concerns. From this diverse corpus, we hazard a unifying definition centered on teaching the UX process through hands-on approaches such as engaged learning. We close our article with recommendations for continuing to refine UX pedagogy in the future.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Introduction:</b> While usability/user experience (UX) has a long and intertwined history with technical and professional communication (TPC), it is unknown how usability/UX is reflected within TPC research and how that reflection has shifted over time. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> Prior studies on the role of usability/UX in TPC have found that usability/UX appears infrequently in TPC research and curriculum requirements. However, usability/UX remains a routinely referenced core identity of TPC. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. To what degree is usability/UX studied in TPC scholarly journals? 2. When TPC researchers study usability/UX, what are they studying? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methodology:</b> A database of TPC-based usability/UX articles was collected through a defined search method. Articles were coded for primary or secondary emphasis on usability/UX, contribution to TPC, object of analysis, method of data collection, and major takeaway. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results:</b> Less than 8% of the total publications in the field are tied to usability/UX, though the percentage has increased in the most recent timeframe (2020–2022). Publications are shifting from research that expands usability/UX knowledge to research that uses usability/UX to explain TPC phenomena. In addition, the object of analysis has shifted to process-centric analysis, design thinking has become an increasing component of TPC usability/UX research, and over a quarter of the research on usability/UX provided did not provide enough methodological description to enable replicability. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusion:</b> Although usability/UX has been consistently published in the TPC research journals, the amount of research suggests that usability/UX is not core to TPC's field identity.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Introduction:</b> Preparing students to pursue user-experience (UX)-related writing careers requires infusing UX instruction into several technical communication courses throughout a degree program. But university writing programs that seek to add UX courses into their curricula often work inside a slow-paced system where amending course objectives to align with job market demands is a slow process. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">About the case:</b> For this collaboration, we forged a symbiotic relationship between a lower- and upper-class course to introduce students to UX early in their program of study and apply additional or nuanced UX methods in several writing courses as they progress through the program. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Situating the case:</b> Faculty in a writing program that does not currently have stand-alone UX classes can collaboratively improve the student UX in a timely fashion while maintaining the flexibility to adapt best practices and contemporary UX processes across classrooms. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methods/approach:</b> A close reading of test plans (n = 14), usability reports, and reflection essays from 200-level students provided key insights into the understanding of UX strategies. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results/discussion:</b> Introductory students struggled to make explicit connections between UX strategies and their work, but they demonstrated gained UX skills by the end of the project. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusions:</b> Students realized many benefits from learning about and conducting UX research that helped them become more empathetic professional writers. However, instructors should consider additional symbiotic relationships between courses in a professional writing program at several points in the writing process.

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Introduction:</b></i> As a field, we have tended to look at user-experience design (UXD) as a data-driven design process, anchored by usability studies, and anchored in fulfilling user needs and expectations. How then might technical and professional communication (TPC) curricula respond to evolving trends in user-experience (UX) scholarship and pedagogy? <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>About the case:</b></i> Addressing this question, we share our programmatic journey, a teaching case that represents more than a decade of reflection and evolution, culminating in the launch of a redesigned major and a UXD minor in a stand-alone department at a regional, primarily undergraduate teaching-focused university. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Situating the case:</b></i> Our programmatic identity began to shift toward a designer mindset that embraced three core frames for professional action–information design, problem solving, and civic engagement—and three complementary design tenets—empathy, advocacy, and bricolage. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Methods/approach:</b></i> To better understand this shift, we recognized the need for a multimethod approach of data gathering. Beginning with an annual assessment of our introductory and capstone courses, we collected data through examination of key course artifacts, through department self-studies, which includes surveys, interviews, and focus groups with relevant stakeholders, and through an external review. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Results/discussion:</b></i> Our self-study data indicated that our students would benefit from stronger audience awareness and design competencies. From these data, we discuss curricular revisions, which include creating a UXD minor. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Conclusions:</b></i> We conclude this article by considering the following three questions: 1. What strategies might other programs consider if they want to design empathy-driven UX pedagogy that is responsive to prevailing scholarly and pedagogical trends? 2. Why might programs cultivate student-researchers as UX bricoleurs? 3. What might other programs expect from student-researcher UX bricoleurs?

In Technical Communication for Environmental Action, editor Sean D. Williams provides a compilation of scholarly chapters that discuss the urgent necessity for creating efficient communication strategies to address environmental challenges, particularly climate change. In this book, technical communication can be seen as a relevant framework condition for the successful fight against climate change, providing information that can be understood by the majority of society and then implemented by business, industry, and governments.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</b> The relationships between US government emergency management agencies and the public they serve are fraught with distrust and tension. This distrust can be attributed to past disaster responses and a lack of transparency with emergency information. Emergency managers work as technical communicators to share information through multiple platforms and digital spaces. Public trust can be increased by improving communication strategies within emergency management organizations. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> Research to improve communication between emergency management agencies and the public calls for more trust and transparency within government organizations. However, little research has been conducted about the ways an organization's structure and workflow influence communication practices/strategies. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. How do emergency management organizations share information about natural disasters with the public? 2. How can communication strategies and workflow in emergency management organizations be improved? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research methodology:</b> Clay Spinuzzi's topsight is used as a framework to conduct an organizational analysis of North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) response to Hurricane Florence in 2018. Interviews were conducted and artifacts were collected to investigate Spinuzzi's three levels of activity and create corresponding workflow diagrams. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results:</b> Results indicate a need for standardized emergency management training and additional resources to support emergency managers. Interventions from technical and professional communicators can assist in developing communication strategies and problem-solving techniques. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusion:</b> Developing informed communication strategies within an emergency management agency is a complex problem because of the numerous factors that play into the organizational structure and existing protocols. Technical communication scholars can help improve communication practices through local community outreach and additional organizational analyses.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</b> Fluent and accurate speaking is an essential set of skills that engineering students strive to achieve, as they can lead to better job placement and a promising future. This article documents a speaking assessment carried out among 120 engineering students who have undergone two semesters of Technical English courses in the final year of their study. The students from diverse departments opted for the English for Competitive Exams elective course to improve their English language proficiency. The objective of the elective is to train the learners in essential language components for facing high-stakes competitive exams with an integrated language skills approach. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> This linguistics-focused study documents a cluster strategy, a pedagogical attempt at speaking, with a culminating self-reflection phase. The strategy cluster was thoughtfully designed and integrated throughout the semester to enhance the students' speaking competency. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. How do learners perceive the effectiveness of speaking skills practice given to them in the online sessions? 2. What benefits through feedback have learners achieved during these sessions? 3. How do students perceive the role of self-directed efforts toward improving their speaking skills? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methods:</b> Students were trained on speaking skills as part of a semester-long online course, and an assessment for speaking skills was designed in which students answered 10 self-reflective questions about their perception and usefulness of practice, feedback from the instructor and peers, and self-directed efforts. Each student's recorded audio file of an average of 11 minutes 24 seconds was uploaded to the learning management system (LMS) as part of the assessment. A qualitative and interpretative investigation of their answers reflecting their learning experiences during the semester, based on the activities and self-regulation, and their self-rating were analyzed thematically. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results and discussion:</b> The findings of the metainvestigation show significantly valuable insights with potential implications on the language teachers’ perception of teaching speaking skills in the classroom, especially in the current online environment. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusions:</b> We conclude that using the strategy cluster comprising practice, feedback, and self-directed efforts with a culminating phase of oral self-reflection is highly beneficial in developing speaking skills in engineering courses focusing on technical communication.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</b> Technical writing is a critical professional skill for engineers, but engineering students often perceive writing as less important. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> Research suggests feedback, revision, and reflective writing support conceptual learning. However, just as student beliefs about intelligence impact engagement and learning outcomes, beliefs about writing may likewise affect how valuable writing is to learning. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. Do student beliefs—expressed in reflections—depict writing as a learning process or as a deterministic artifact? 2. To what extent do these expressed beliefs explain variance in their conceptual learning in a chemical engineering laboratory course? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research methodology:</b> A design-based research study was conducted in three semesters of an upper division chemical engineering laboratory course to jointly study the use of feedback, revision, and reflection, and to develop contextualized theory about the relationships between these and students’ conceptual learning. Students’ writing was analyzed qualitatively. Regression modelling explained variance in scores of students’ conceptual understanding. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results:</b> We found that students who elaborated on errors and corrections scored significantly lower on conceptual understanding in their final submission, while students who described writing as an ongoing process scored significantly higher on conceptual understanding in their final reports. We found a similar trend for students who completed a second cycle, and especially that a focus on perfecting a written artifact corresponded to lesser gains. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusions:</b> Our findings lend support for assisting engineering students to approach writing as a developmental and learning process and for engaging them in multiple rounds of feedback, revision, and reflection across their programs of study.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Introduction:</b> Engineering students benefit from understanding the role of technical communication in the professional workplace. This article examines the communication coefficient (CC), a new method for grading student technical communication intended to help students better understand this role. Its goal is to encourage students to treat their communication with the same importance that it has in the professional workplace. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">About the case:</b> The core philosophy of the CC method is that audiences perceive technical work more positively when it is communicated well and more negatively when it is not. The method captures this philosophy mathematically: students’ grades result from multiplying the points earned for technical content by a number—the coefficient—representing how well they communicated that content. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Situating the case:</b> The CC method is rooted in established principles, such as holistic grading and the separate yet simultaneous consideration of content and communication. It is novel in how it combines these principles into a grading technique. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Approach:</b> The CC method was employed in three undergraduate engineering classes at the United States Military Academy during the spring 2020 semester. Student and instructor feedback were collected to gauge the pros and cons of the method and whether it is worth fielding on a larger scale. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Discussion:</b> The CC method was found to encourage better student communication, although mixed student and instructor opinion suggest that changes to the method and the way that it is messaged are necessary. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusion:</b> The CC method warrants further study and consideration of its usefulness in other departments and institutions.

In Designing Multilingual Experiences in Technical Communication, Dr. Laura Gonzales proposes a radical rethinking of the motivations, methods, execution, and interpretation of multilingual research in technical communication. Gonzales rejects classical technical communication models, which posit the technical communicator and translator as mere transmitters of information. Perhaps more important, Gonzales rejects current common practices in multilingual research and their dismissive assumptions (whether implicit or explicit) about speakers of languages other than English, typically in communities of color or the Global South.

<roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Background:</b></roman> Building a reputable network on Twitter is viewed as impactful in several scholarly disciplines, but little is known about the professional and interdisciplinary human-computer interaction (HCI) community. This study combined two approaches from scholarly communication and technical communication to capture the static and dynamic features of the HCI scholar Twitter network. <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Literature review:</b></roman> Related studies that described the scholarly reputation built through Twitter and social networking in the field of HCI were reviewed and discussed. <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research questions:</b></roman> 1. In which countries are HCI scholars more likely to follow their peers in the same country? 2. What are the characteristics (country, reputation) and actions (reciprocity) of HCI scholars who are more likely to build HCI scholarly network profiles on Twitter? <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research methodology:</b></roman> The network analysis method of the exponential random graph model (ERGM) was adopted to trace and visualize current follower networks on Twitter. <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Results and discussion:</b></roman> We found that 22.9% of HCI scholars use Twitter and that reciprocity and country of current employment best drive the Twitter connections of scholars. Characteristics of HCI scholars’ tie formation online are also illustrated and discussed. <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Implications for practice:</b></roman> This study contributes to field studies of professional networks by identifying the structural properties and factors that influence scholars’ search for professional development on Twitter. The empirical findings should be a helpful reference for HCI professional societies and individual scholars in operating online professional networks.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Background:</i></b> The usability of university websites is important to ascertain that they serve their intended purpose. Their usability can be evaluated either by testing methods that rely on actual users or by inspection methods that rely on experts for evaluation. Heuristic evaluation and guideline reviews are two inspection methods of usability evaluation. A heuristic evaluation consists of a few general heuristics (rules), which are limited to checking general flaws in the design. A guideline review uses a much larger set of guidelines/suggestions that fit a specific business domain. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Literature review:</i></b> Most of the literature has equated usability studies with testing methods and has given less focus to inspection methods. Moreover, those studies have examined usability in a general sense and not in domain- and culture-specific contexts. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Research questions:</i></b> 1. Do domain- and culture-specific heuristic evaluation and guideline reviews work similarly in evaluating the usability of applications? 2. Which of these methods is better in terms of the nature of evaluation, time needed for evaluation, evaluation procedure, templates adopted, and evaluation results? 3. Which method is better in terms of thoroughness and reliability? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Research methodology</i></b> : This study uses a comparative methodology. The two inspection methods—guideline reviews and heuristic evaluation—are compared in a domain- and the culture-specific context in terms of the nature, time required, approach, templates, and results. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Results:</i></b> The results reflect that both methods identify similar usability issues; however, they differ in terms of the nature, time duration, evaluation procedure, templates, and results of the evaluation. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This study contributes by providing insights for practitioners and researchers about the choice of an evaluation method for domain- and culture-specific evaluation of university websites.

This book provides an up-to-date, research-based, but practical and accessible description of contemporary technical communication practice in a global environment. It gives readers a thorough understanding of the technical communication field by emphasizing how it should be viewed as a profession, how one might pursue a career in it, and finally how to practice it. Finally, the book draws the reader’s attention to background material with a succinct summary of ideas that have been popularized in both literature and practice. In addition, the book’s extensive multiple method study methodology provides a solid justification for the information’s foundation. The book has nine chapters that are divided into the following three sections: An introduction to the fundamentals of technical communication as a profession; an examination into how diverse the technical communication profession is—for instance, by examining the many competencies required, various sorts of activities that are performed, and various work environment options accessible, including working from home; and finally, an introduction into the theories and procedures that serve as the book’s foundation and link the first two sections to a research framework. This book is accessible and useful for industry practitioners, students, and teachers. The book also helps novices by giving them all the knowledge they need about the subject, educational options, societies, technologies, necessary skills, workplaces, and the need to adapt quickly to changing conditions to meet future needs. Real-world case studies and the sharing of technical communicators’ real experiences are of tremendous value to professionals and will aid in the development of their technical communication skills.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</b> Self-disclosure on social media can cause some privacy risks, but it benefits users and businesses if adequately managed. Companies may benefit from users’ self-disclosure on social media to better understand the consumers’ needs, customize services or products, and address users’ concerns to sculpt positive brand reputation, trust, and sales. In addition, users’ better understanding of self-disclosure motivations helps them manage more suitable topic, platform, and concepts to match the intended online personal or professional persona. Finally, technical communicators’ understanding of the motivation for social media self-disclosures can help them leverage available self-disclosure in producing more effective technical communication and carefully plan self-disclosures with clear motivations. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> Many researchers have studied the varying self-disclosure motivations, but to the best of our knowledge, no mapping studies are currently available summarizing the motivations of self-disclosure on social media. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research question:</b> What does the current research about self-disclosure identify as users’ motivation for self-disclosure on social media? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research methodology:</b> We conducted a systematic mapping study that included relevant journal and conference publications. Mapping studies are suitable for structuring a broad research field concerning research questions about content, methods, or trends in the existing publications. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results:</b> We found four categories for social media self-disclosures: discloser-related, audience-related, platform- and affordances-related, and perceived risk- and cost-related. Within the main categories, we found varying submotivations. We also discuss the implications of our findings and future research needs. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusions:</b> The mapping of available studies helps researchers, academics, and practitioners understand existing self-disclosure motivations and research gaps. In addition, social media stakeholders planning to use social media self-disclosures within their areas of interest can use this study as a starting point to understand what drives social media self-disclosures.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Introduction:</b> Design thinking has gained popularity over the last few decades due to its promise for social innovation and user-centered solutions for technical communication practices and pedagogy. Yet, our increasingly complex sociotechnical climate calls for the historical examination of the decades-old problem-solving model and re-envisioning of the prospect of design thinking in academia and industry. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. What prominent historical narratives have informed design-thinking values and practices as we know them today? 2. What could be the future of design thinking in the technical communication profession? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research methodology:</b> This article interrogates the historiography of design thinking by mapping its dominant narratives and constructs antenarrative futures by weaving adjuvant accounts into new trajectories for technical communication purposes and aspirations. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results:</b> Based on the mapping of historical traces of design-thinking narratives, this article presents two root accounts of design-thinking development—the efficiency narrative and the participatory narrative—with key identifiers and examples. Retracing the stories to highlight stances of nondominant sources, the findings indicate the importance of social advocacy through two main antenarratives—inclusion and social justice. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusion and future research:</b> Taking into account the antenaratives of design thinking, future applications should center inclusion and social justice advocacy in academic as well as industry settings. Future studies may investigate this approach to implementing design thinking and examine the corresponding outcomes.

<roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Introduction:</b></roman> Social media have been widely used for corporation-generated narratives. Corporate communication entails a “storytelling process” and a narrative perspective. Corporate narrative has taken on new forms with the emergence of social media, which is the object of this study and called corporations’ owned social media narrative (COSMN). To our knowledge, however, no research has systematically investigated studies on COSMN. Our study provides a synthesized review on the strategies and functions of COSMN. <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research questions:</b></roman> 1. What are the general characteristics of studies on COSMN? 2. What strategies are usually adopted by corporations via their social media narrative? 3. What functions do corporations intend to achieve by their social media narrative? <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Methodology:</b></roman> We conducted an integrative literature review of studies on corporations’ owned social media narrative based on journal articles from the database of the Web of Science Core Collection. After retrieving 25 articles in accordance with our research purpose, we conducted a qualitative content analysis to describe general characteristics of the literature and identify narrative strategies and functions. <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Results and conclusions:</b></roman> When corporations undertake advertising, branding, and social networking activities (among others) on social media, they tend to use form-based narrative strategies (technical strategy and formality strategy), content-based narrative strategies (broadcasting strategy, reacting strategy, engaging strategy, and emotional strategy), and medium-based narrative strategy (transmedia strategy) to achieve functions of market communication, technical communication, and public relations work (identity construction, impression management, stakeholder endorsement, corporate social responsibility communication, and crisis communication). This integrative literature review provides theoretical implications for corporate social media research and practical implications for digital marketing practitioners.

<roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Background</b>:</roman> Social media like YouTube have transformative effects on technical communication. Technical communication scholars have attended to the increasing use of social media personally, pedagogically, and professionally. Our stream of research focuses on YouTube videos for educational purposes within the various research avenues. <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Literature review</b>:</roman> YouTube has become a viable platform for learning. YouTube educational videos have been studied from many different perspectives, yet research on engagement with YouTube educational videos is scarce, despite the importance of engagement in both learning and social media. Following extant research on YouTube educational video features, we probe the effects of visual cueing on social media engagement. <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research question</b>:</roman> How does visual cueing (anchors and intrinsic visual features) affect social media engagement with YouTube educational videos? <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Methodology</b>:</roman> We sampled 196 YouTube educational videos on 28 physics and astronomy topics, and extracted visual cueing from the videos and social media engagement information from YouTube. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Results</b>:</roman> Our analyses show that intrinsic visual features (color contrast and visual complexity) are significantly related to social media engagement (involvement, intimacy, and interaction), while anchors (math equations and models) are not. <roman xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Conclusion</b>:</roman> Our study supports the empirical knowledge on social media engagement with YouTube educational videos and expands on the technical communication research for YouTube educational videos. In addition, this research contributes to the literature on engagement by extending its relevance to the social media learning environment. Finally, our study provides content creators with new video design insights that can be used to enhance social media engagement with YouTube educational videos.

Background: Technical communicators use special language information to describe technology products. Researching such information is part and parcel of their job and thus occupies a relevant share of their working time. Literature review: Numerous studies examine information needs and search techniques of various professionals, such as engineers or translators. However, very little is known about technical communicators’ use of and requirements for information sources containing special language information. This article contributes to filling this research gap by discussing results of an empirical study. Research questions: 1. What types of nonhuman information sources do technical communicators use when researching special language information? 2. What properties do technical communicators expect from special language reference tools? Research methodology: We conducted a written online survey among technical communicators. In this article, we analyze and interpret survey data related to the two research questions. Results: Respondents use 14 major types of information sources for researching special language information. Half can be categorized as reference tools, while the other half are document-like. Respondents would like to have special language reference tools that are available electronically, can be adapted to their personal needs, and offer up-to-date information with good usability. Conclusions: Half of the information source types are document-like and can be used as text corpora. Thus, text corpus-management methods and tools should be promoted in technical communication practice and teaching. Technical communicators’ requirements and wishes described in this article lay the groundwork for developing tailor-made special language reference tools.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Background:</i></b> Computer programming faces persistent problems of inequity. In response, bootcamps and workshops have rapidly responded by offering an introduction to coding literacy intended to increase access and representation in the tech industry. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Literature review:</i></b> Prior research on software development focuses primarily on workplace contexts. This study considers bootcamps and workshops outside the workplace for minoritized and marginalized software developers to better understand the institutional contexts in which programming is taught and made. In so doing, it contributes to ongoing conversations on strategies for social justice in technical communication. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Research questions:</i></b> 1. How do bootcamps and workshops function as sites of coding education? 2. What strategies do activist programmers use in bootcamps and workshops to work towards social justice goals? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Methodology:</i></b> For this research, I interviewed organizers, instructors, and participants at three coding workshops and bootcamps for marginalized communities. I also conducted participant observation of the workshops, collected educational materials, and analyzed the interview transcripts using a grounded theory approach. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Results and discussion:</i></b> This analysis revealed how coding workshops and bootcamps operate as literacy sponsors, contributing to a transformative access for participants. More specifically, my research describes how activist programmers craft open, inclusive, and culturally aware pedagogies by attending to access, representation, community, and active learning, ultimately facilitating an affective coding literacy.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Introduction:</b> This article examines the rhetorical implications of archiving technical documents by studying the erasure of Black women's mental health narratives in Virginia's Central State Mental Hospital in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This article seeks to examine how historical mental health documents characterize (or fail to characterize) Black women and their mental health. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">About the case:</b> We examine Black women's mental health experiences through absences in the annual reports from Central State Hospital in Virginia (formerly Central State Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane). <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Situating the case:</b> There is a dearth of work related to the unique experiences that Black women face when dealing with mental health challenges coupled with or compounded by a legacy of misogynoir. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methods/approach:</b> We offer an inventive approach for reading rhetorical absences and provide guiding questions for employing the critical archival inquiry methodology. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results/discussion:</b> In taking on this endeavor to learn more about how Black women's mental health was represented in historical archives, we learned a great deal, not from the text on the page of the documents but from the text that was missing from those documents. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusions:</b> Technical communication scholars, especially those with an interest in inclusion and justice, must adjust their methodological orientation and their approaches to historical and archival research to include an exploration of what is missing from the archives. Technical and professional communicators have a unique skill set that is ideal for reading through absences and erasures in both contemporary and historical documents.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</b> The linguistic framing strategies used in media reporting on illegal drugs have been extensively documented, but less attention has been directed toward visuals, particularly data visualizations. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> Positioning illegal drug use as a criminal justice problem or a public health issue are types of frameworks that use specific rhetorical strategies. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. What are the rhetorical strategies used in data visualizations published during the crack and opioid drug epidemics, respectively? 2. Do these strategies advance dominant media narratives that crack addiction should be criminalized but opioid addiction should be treated like a public health issue? And if so, how is this accomplished? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methodology:</b> Drawing from the media studies approach previously employed in a study in technical and professional communication (TPC) on information design trends, I apply the concept of “scripto-visual” rhetoric to select data visualizations published by mainstream news media during both drug epidemics. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results:</b> I argue these graphics escalated the perceived threat during both drug epidemics but different scripto-visual rhetorical strategies were used. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusions:</b> Attending to ethical considerations in the creation of data visualizations has long been important in TPC, while scholarship has integrated social justice as a core component of the discipline. In the last section of this article, I bring these themes together by arguing that a social justice ethic is needed in data design work. I then propose a critical heuristic constructed from Jones et al.’s positionality, privilege, and power framework that can be used analytically or as an inventional tool to tease out the ways particular scripto-visual rhetorical decisions may be promoting inequities.

This book is appropriate for technical and professional communication (TPC) teachers, scholars, and practitioners who wish to enact social justice in their work. Although our field has welcomed and cultivated the social justice turn enthusiastically for the last few decades, the editors acknowledge that “there is a dearth of praxis-based resources.” To address this need, this book offers “action-focused resources and tools,” which are intended to support members of the profession “in conducting research or pursuing both local and international projects in socially just ways.” To meet the needs of TPC scholars, practitioners, and teachers, the editors organized this book into four sections, consisting of three chapters each. Each chapter presents one social justice tool and a case to illustrate the effective use of that tool. Besides, each chapter presents tips, cautions, limitations, and future directions to inform the use of the resource. This book is extremely helpful because it inspires us to come up with more praxis-based resources, prioritize and learn from marginalized populations, and focus on embodied experiences and knowledges in our TPC practice, research, and pedagogy. Throughout the book, the authors remind us to be mindful of our own positionality, privilege, and power while doing TPC research, practice, and teaching and to empower the disempowered. This book can be an invaluable addition to courses in TPC research methods, field methods, Indigenous rhetorics, or pedagogy.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><i>Introduction:</i></b> This article offers an approach that we call <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">critical collaboration</b> —an array of theoretical commitments drawn from the authors’ embodiments and lived experiences. In making explicit the connections between authorial embodiment and the content of theory and practice, our practical models demonstrate new and varied approaches to public feminisms. We begin with a discussion of embodiment and then offer four sections—amplification rhetorics, apparent feminisms, a techné of marginality, and memetic rhetorical environments—with key takeaways to guide readers through our related-but-different approaches. Our goal in doing so is to underscore the importance of public feminisms to enacting social justice in technical and professional communication. This means recognizing our obligation to respond to unjust technical communication. Technical communication is not a utopia of inclusion and anti-racism—although some corners of the field are dedicated to those topics, to be sure. Rather, despite the social justice turn, some parts of the field still insist on objectivity, neutrality, and practicality as the touchstones for “good” technical communication. Our work here shows some of the ways in which we might resist the cultural blinders that allow such ideas to persist unabated. Drawing especially on research in rhetoric and embodiment studies, we build interdisciplinary bridges with critical race studies (including critical race feminisms), womanism, gender studies, technical communication, Black rhetorics, queer studies, cultural studies, and rhetorical genre studies, among other fields, to provide a set of practical approaches to public feminist exigencies that resist collapsing all feminisms into a single approach. We argue that drawing on embodiment to develop a multiplicity of feminist approaches and engaging in critical collaboration as those approaches evolve is a way forward that allows for more stakeholders to engage fruitfully in public feminist projects. Our hope is that readers can then imagine public feminisms as one avenue for doing the social justice work that is vital to the growth of technical and professional communication as a field.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. How can we address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in our business and technical communication service courses? 2. How can we help prepare future engineers, technical professionals, and managers to create more inclusive and equitable workplaces?. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Situating the case:</b> The social justice literature in technical and professional communication (TPC) has focused on a variety of areas, including research methods, user experience, and expanding what can and should be identified as TPC. Emerging research has turned toward pedagogy as an interventional strategy for educating on issues of racial justice and inclusion. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">About the case:</b> This teaching case presents the transformation of a TPC service course to specifically address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In response to the racial injustice documented during the summer of 2020, I developed a sequence of assignments that asked students to research and apply DEI initiatives. The assignment was to research and write a short report on DEI approaches in the workplace, followed by a larger team-based project in which students worked with the local city council to enact possible DEI initiatives in the broader community. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methods:</b> The case was studied through the author's experience and the analysis of data obtained from surveys with class participants and other instructors who incorporated the assignments in their courses. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results/discussion:</b> Students were able to learn more about how to address bias, inclusion, and social justice in a business environment, but also demonstrated some implicit resistance to direct attention to racial injustice. The case study humanizes and brings home issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion for students who might otherwise consider them only in the abstract.

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., observed, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. [1, para. 4]

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Background</b></i> <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">:</i> Under the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, law enforcement agencies are required to draft and uphold a Use of Force document to safeguard the rights of the public. This document, in its most successful form, defines use of force and offers specific core principles that outline de-escalation tactics and techniques to reinforce use of force and deadly force as a last resort. What is missing from the conversation of this policy is an analysis of the rhetorical choices within each document, and the understanding that these documents are rarely written with social justice in mind; rather, they are focused on legalese and protecting the individual departments and the police officer responsible for using force. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Literature review</b></i> <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">:</i> The Use of Force document is a genre of policy that academics have been drawn to, especially in consideration of social justice. With a rise in law enforcement violent interactions with historically marginalized groups of the public, policy analysis is necessary. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research questions</b></i> <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">:</i> 1. What key terms, concepts, and narratives are used within each document to reinforce oppressive ideology? 2. What rhetorical moves give agency of force to officers through various terminology? 3. What does an analysis of these policy documents reveal for technical and professional communicators regarding our role in social-justice-driven work? <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research methods</b></i> <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">:</i> I performed a rhetorical analysis of each document, pinpointing words, phrases, and sections that were unique to the specific text. NVivo qualitative research software was used to create word trees, where word frequencies were analyzed to uncover each department's situational position and the implication of such. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Results and discussion</b></i> <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">:</i> The analysis revealed that of the two documents under review, one tended to humanize not only the situational officer, who is incapable of being neutral, and the person whom force is being used against. The other tended to reflect policy-driven terminology that works to dehumanize the person involved with the officer and continues to uphold oppressive rhetoric. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Conclusion</b></i> <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">:</i> Technical communicators have a responsibility to insert themselves in issues of injustice. An analysis of these policy documents reveals areas of revision, areas where the public should be involved, and is a move toward further accountability regarding police brutality against historically marginalized communities.

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Background:</b></i> In this article, we document how our team of translators, interpreters, technical communicators, and health justice workers is collaborating to (re)design COVID-19-related technical documentation for and with Indigenous language speakers in Gainesville, FL, USA; Oaxaca de Juarez, Mexico; and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Literature review:</b></i> Although (mis)representations of Indigenous communities have been an ongoing issue in and beyond technical communication, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought added attention to how government institutions and other agencies fail to consider the cultural values, languages, and communication practices of Indigenous communities when writing, designing, and sharing technical information. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research questions:</b></i> 1. How can technical communicators work toward social justice in health through collaborative design with Indigenous language speakers? 2. How can technical documentation about COVID-19 be (re)designed alongside members of vulnerable communities to redress oppressive representations while increasing access and usability? <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Methodology:</b></i> Through interviews and other participatory design activities conducted with Indigenous language speakers in the US, Guatemala, and Mexico, we illustrate how Western approaches to creating technical documentation, particularly in health-related contexts such as the COVID-19 pandemic, put communities at risk by failing to localize health messaging for Indigenous audiences. We then document our work intended to collaboratively design and translate COVID-19-related technical information alongside those Indigenous language speakers to benefit Indigenous language speakers in Gainesville and other parts of North Central Florida. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Results:</b></i> Through this discussion, we highlight how technical communicators can collaborate with Indigenous language speakers to create, translate, and share multilingual technical documents that can contribute to social justice efforts by enhancing language access. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Conclusion:</b></i> Through collaborations with Indigenous language speakers, translators, and interpreters, social/health justice projects in technical communication can be combined, localized, and adapted to better serve and represent the diversity of people, languages, and cultures that continue to increase in our world.

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</b> This case study presents graduate recruiting strategies developed and piloted in Fall 2018 and 2019. We initiated relationships with majority-minority universities, aiming to recruit underrepresented students to Utah State University's technical communication graduate programs. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research question:</b> How may technical communication graduate programs at predominantly White institutions craft customized recruiting strategies to center multiply marginalized or underrepresented (MMU) applicants? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Situating the case:</b> Scholars have long advocated recruiting strategies that develop new ways of working with institutions that enroll large numbers of minoritized students to attract those students. Recruiting strategies that build and strengthen these relationships can decenter the academy and focus on the lived experiences of potential applicants. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">How this case was studied:</b> Serving as the framework of our research methodology, the four tenets of alternative epistemology based on Black Feminist Theory directly informed specific recruiting strategies that we piloted in Fall 2018, then revised and piloted again in Fall 2019. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">About the case:</b> Given the homogeneity of our field, it was important to develop recruiting strategies focused on marginalized groups. With this in mind, we established an annual graduate program recruiting trip to visit Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and majority-minority universities. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusions:</b> In piloting recruiting strategies that center the perspectives and experiences of marginalized people, we identified two major priorities that should inform recruiting efforts: building relationships and enhancing inclusivity.