This article discusses an attempt to match the student characteristics in sections of technical report writing in a community college setting so as to determine if different teaching methodologies affected performance and/or attitudes. As many similarities as possible in the general characteristics of age, background field of study, and initial attitude towards the course were sought in order to measure the effect of a variance in presentation of material. The first class was taught by the traditional lecture technique; the second, by individual consultation.

Students at the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan participated in an experiment to determine if different affective responses would result from exposure to three different forms of media, each presenting the same content. One group of students viewed a videotape, another listened to an audiotape, and a third read a printed transcript. A semantic differential was used to measure affective response, and an objective test was administered to measure cognitive learning. Results showed the video group to be perceiving the presentation less favorably than were the other two groups; however, they were perceiving two of the participants more favorably than were the others. An analysis of covariance between pre- and posttest scores of cognitive learning showed that subjects receiving the audiotape version had learned significantly less than those receiving the other treatments.

A long-term relationship between a technical writing program and a single non-university organization can have rewards as significant as short-term relationships with several such organizations. Four specific programs of interaction now in effect at Battelle Memorial Institute and Ohio State University provide Battelle personnel ready access to information on the state-of-the-art of rhetorical theory and assure them of a large pool of well trained writers as potential employees. The technical writing faculty gains confidence and a better understanding of the tasks typically performed by technical writers over long periods of time. Description of these particular programs of interaction suggests ways to foster similar programs elsewhere, even in the absence of nearby research foundations.

The copyright reform bill should become law in January, 1978. Among its major revisions are the extension of protection for life plus fifty years and the mitigation of penalties for either omission of notice or “innocent infringement.” For the first time the law specifically identifies “fair use” and certain other copying practices as user rights. The issues of integrity of text and the use of protected text within computer systems have not been treated. The law's text itself remains general in the hope that it will prove to be a flexible vehicle for the future. An era of informal agreements and litigation between publishers and users can be anticipated. Scientific and technical publishing must be recognized as a special area within the publishing community on the verge of change.

A hypothetical situation introduces the reader to the software consultant, an independent businessman who writes computer programs for others and who is a professional communicator. With the customer and a systems analyst to assist the customer, the consultant engages in a communication process which is the core of his business. Each of the three parties has different goals and abilities which affect the design and development of the computer programs. By the use of a simple communication model, a typical software development project is reviewed. Communication is seen as a composite for the project, with the process at each stage forming part of the whole. The paper is descriptive in nature, leaving development of a prescriptive model for the software consultant to future investigation.

For multinational companies the written report is a major medium of communication. Moving on this assumption, this article suggests that problems do occur within reports between German subsidiaries and parent American companies in the United States. The discussion is divided into two parts: 1) problems associated with operating and action reports as viewed by Germans and Americans, and 2) the place of exterior forces such as culture and language upon the written report. In the end, cultural variances may be the major factor affecting written communication within the same company, yet of two different nationalities.

In any situation in which a written communication is produced, eight variables and three processes are present. The variables are the occasion, the author, the subject, the purpose, the supporting facilities, time, the communication itself, and the recipient. The processes are the preparation, transmission, and consideration and use of the communication. The success of the communication is governed largely by the effectiveness with which the author evaluates the situation and produces a communication appropriate to the attainment of his purposes within it. Fortuitous circumstances beyond the control of the author (and of which he may be unaware) may affect the likelihood that the communication will be successful.

Several primary journals in science and technology additionally contain news items, announcements, and related matters. A brief description is given of this category of papers and some general recommendations are made about their presentation. The inclusion of such information in primary journals should preferably remain limited in order not to affect the character of these journals.

Systems design consists of a tremendously complex series of choices in which no decision point is completely independent of other decisions which have already been made or have yet to be made. A systems approach to the design of document-handling information systems would require a detailed examination of the choices to be made in the design process and the ramifications of possible choices in terms of the capabilities, performance, cost, and other characteristics of the system. The authors advocate a systematic procedure involving six steps: 1) identification of fixed parameters, 2) identification of variable parameters, 3) identification of available options for each variable parameter, 4) identification of factors affecting a choice among available options, 5) identification of factors affected by a choice among available options, and 6) logical analysis of the picture thus presented to determine the optimum sequence in which decisions should be made during the design process and the nature of the decision process itself.

The rhetorical and syntactic interfaces between technical communicators and readers are being affected by cost-related pressures. The resulting modification of the technical communicator's role will benefit or harm engineering and technical communication according to the developing understanding of the technical communicator. In business and in education the changing professional rationale should consider both the nature of the work and the professional personality of the technical communicator. This is because the success of an engineering enterprise depends on the cooperation and interaction of administrators, engineers, and technical communicators, and because those who are being channeled into technical writing and illustrating are being increasingly selected by educators. As the bridge between the engineer and the user, the professional personality of the technical communicator fulfills two requirements, the technical and the artistic; technical communicators typically remain suspended between technology and art.