Computer-mediated communication on the Internet offers new challenges and opportunities for technical communication. The cases of Lotus MarketPlace and the Clipper chip illustrate the specialized nature of technical communities on the Internet and suggest that when technical messages are not overly complex, the process of reposting may widen community appeal but also promote inaccurate information. Yet, when technical messages are highly complex, audiences may not repost such messages; this preserves accuracy of information but at the same time limits how many people will read the information. Finally, these cases strengthen recent arguments that rhetorical delivery is an increasingly important component of technical communication.

This article extends the discussion of visual hetoric to the writing spaces and iconic representations of computer interfaces. An examination of the interfaces of a word-processing and a page layout program for desktop publishing reveals the visual nature of the interface. This visual writing space, different from the blank piece of paper, can encourage and foster a writer's consideration of options for integrating visual and verbal elements into a text.

Key aspects of memoria, the ancient Art of Memory, especially its focus on vivid representational images set against distinct backgrounds, can be helpful in creating memorable, universal, and easily retrievable computer icons.

There is much debate and confusion about the use of the passive voice in texts in general, and in computer manuals in particular. For example, it is often stated that the passive should be avoided, but on the other hand, it may also have a clear function in a text. The aim of this article is to provide clarity by presenting a straightforward principle for the use of the passive voice in computer manuals. This “alternation principle,” in which active voice is used for user actions and the passive voice for automatic computer, is backed by results from recent functional and cognitive linguistic research. It is illustrated by means of fragments from several computer manuals, including some (apparent) counter-examples.

Composition studies, as a field, has always depended on theoretical constructs and empirical methods from other disciplines. This article looks at interdisciplinary work in the area of composition and computer-mediated communication (CMC). The work on writing and electronic networks has drawn from early experimental studies of CMC in social psychology, the premises of which are at odds with current thinking in both composition studies and social psychology. In recent years, social psychological research on CMC has witnessed changes similar to those in composition: a rethinking of positivistic frameworks and a move to emphasize social constructs. This article reviews the work of four groups conducting social psychological research on CMC. It traces the movement away from theoretical frameworks based in positivism toward those grounded in social constructionism. It concludes by advocating a dialogic relationship between research in computers and composition studies and social psychology.

Although editors make extensive use of the computer in their work. Most editors still mark changes on paper using traditional editing symbols. There are, however, compelling reasons for editors to begin marking copy on the computer. We consider online editing from the perspective both of editors and their employers. We then focus on one aspect of online editing: the mark-up models embodied in various editing tools. We demonstrate that the different mark-up models and their particular implementations have major implications for the editing process, including the quality of edited material and the worklife satisfaction of editors and writers. We conclude by recommending that the technical communication community exert its influence on software developers and corporate technology planners to encourage the development and adoption of online editing tools that will be congenial to editors.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

This paper examines the dominant metaphors that define and describe three basic components of hypertext (texts, nodes, and links), arguing that they contribute in central ways to the current treatment of this technology in technical communication. It includes a brief overview of the way metaphors filter computer-based tasks and functions, a discussion of hypertext metaphors of identity and the realms from which they are commonly appropriated, and some corollary implications for students and teachers of technical communication. In general, this paper contends that hypertext design choices are both productively and unproductively shaped by social as well as technological forces.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

The increased use of telecommuting by information and knowledge workers in many fields has been fostered by the availability of enabling technologies. Notebook sized computers, easy-to-use software, access to information both private or public, and electronic mail capabilities available worldwide have made telecommuting possible. This paper examines some of the key factors involved in the telecommuting evolution. Coverage includes background on how telecommuting started and which current technologies lend themselves to telecommuting. Also, the article reviews the trends that are stimulating dramatic double-digit growth and describes corporate attitudes toward and experiences with telecommuting. Topics covered include corporate commitments, motivation, productivity, supervision and employee satisfaction.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

A pragmatic work that begins with analyses of experimental expository prose, avant-garde feminist poetics, African American discourse, hypertext, and other innovative discourse influences, and goes on to present a series of proposals intended for teachers, theorists, graduate students, and administr

Computer mediated communication (CMC) via the Internet is fast becoming a significant communication medium for technical and professional communicators. Research emerging from a number of disciplines is beginning to articulate the numerous social and organizational factors involved in the use of CMC. A significant question for communicators to ask is how organizations, which traditionally prefer structured and accountable communication, can exist in the open ended and unregulated world of the Internet. A rhetorical analysis of the protest over Lotus MarketPlace illustrates the complexity of traditional corporate communication in the nonhierarchical and often highly emotive forum of the Internet. Organizations can interact within this complexity more successfully by changing their rhetorical strategies.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

Rapid developments in video and computer technologies are creating a new applications niche that unites technologies like computer, video, and audio with classical art forms such as music, painting, sculpture, and theater. Typical of such applications are multimedia, virtual reality, video, hypertext, and interactive video databases. We describe some of the ways that technology and creative forms are merging and discuss the impact of this convergence on the corporation.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

This article reviews the effects of the computer age on our environment. Although the usefulness of computer technology is inarguably an asset in today's world, the environmental implications are not yet fully understood by the majority of computer users. The subjects discussed in this article fall in three general areas: the direct effects of computers on the computer user and the workplace (ergonomics and telecommuting); the effects of the use of computers on the environment (consumption of electrical energy and solid waste disposal); and the environmental hazards of producing computers.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

Fragments of Rationality: Postmodernity and the Subject of Composition. Lester Faigley. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 1992. 285 pages. Literacy and Computers: The Complications of Teaching and Learning with Technology. Cynthia L. Selfe and Susan Hilligoss, eds. New York: MLA, 1994. 387 pages. Dazzle ‘Em with Style: The Art of Oral Scientific Presentation. Robert R. H. Anholt. New York: W. H. Freeman, 1994. 200 pp. The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers. 14th ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1993. 921 pp. Science and Technical Writing: A Manual of Style. Philip Rubens, ed. New York: Henry Holt, 1994. 513 pp.

In summer of 1987, Donald Stewart began a survey of English departments, attempting to uncover changes in curriculum that had resulted from changes in discipline. Stewart reported results of his survey in a 1989 CCC article, is an English Major, and What Should It Be? Stewart acknowledged limitations of his study: he was considering only 194 colleges, and only 108 of these actually responded to his request for information beyond catalogue description. Furthermore, many of respondents indicated that their curriculum was constantly being revised. Still, survey provided an important window on English major, particularly with regard to options in creative writing and rhetoric/composition. Stewart found that only 74 of 194 colleges surveyed, or 38%, offered students chance to specialize in some aspect of writing in addition to literature. The majority of English departments surveyed by Stewart (55%) offered only literature emphases, with optional electives from other areas of English. Based on his findings, he made a call for the establishment, in all departments, of options in creative writing, linguistics (where departments of linguistics do not exist), and composition and (193). In our survey of writing concentrations or majors within English departments, we wanted to follow up on Stewart's survey to see if more undergraduates were able to specialize in composition and rhetoric.1 The initial impetus for this survey came from an e-mail discussion among writing program directors about concentrations in writing and rhetoric being offered in their departments. After several writing program directors informally announced new courses and writing concentrations, we thought a review of these changes

Response, David Bartholomae, Response, Peter Elbow, Romantic Resonances, Don H. Bialostosky, If Winston Weathers Would Just Write to Me on E-Mail, Wendy Bishop, Writing: In and With the World Review, Susan Welsh

Suggests that current theories about how even the simplest elements of graphical design function in professional communication do not adequately convey the complexity of the element's actual role in communication. By showing how producers of computer interfaces rely on the possibility of multiple interpretive trajectories in the use of any sign and how users of such signs respond in ways that are far from being totally predictable, we argue that it is best to think of the communication act not as a simple exchange of information between two minds (producer and user) but rather as a field of possibilities that requires flexibility and an experimental attitude from both the producer and the user. Examining theoretical developments in the history of physics and cognitive science, we contend that the dominant paradigms of understanding communication-the old cognitive (or computational) model and the social constructionist model as currently employed in the fields of composition and technical communication-fall short of accounting for even fairly straightforward exchanges of information. In place of the communication triangle that both of the old models rely upon, we offer a new model that uses the concept of "consensual domains" as the basis for a general theory of rhetoric. As a starting point for our investigation, we present the history of a still evolving sign-the trash-can icon in the user interface of the Macintosh operating system-from the perspective of a single (also still evolving) human user.

Although the use of e-mail is prevalent, few articles address the legal and ethical implications of e-mail monitoring. The paper argues that managerial monitoring of e-mail is ethically questionable because of its potential to violate privacy rights. After examining the legal guidelines related to e-mail monitoring, the article explores the ethical considerations surrounding this type of monitoring. Privacy issues and implications for management are addressed. The paper also offers suggestions for organizations that choose to monitor employees' e-mail.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

Academic Literacy and the Nature of Expertise: Reading, Writing, and Knowing in Academic Philosophy. Cheryl Geisler. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1994. 354 pp. Computer Ethics: Cautionary Tales and Ethical Dilemmas in Computing. 2nd ed. Tom Forester and Perry Morrison. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994. 347 pp. A Practical Guide to Usability Testing. Joseph S. Dumas and Janice C. Redish. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1993. 412 pp. Managing Your Documentation Projects. JoAnn T. Hackos. New York: Wiley, 1994. 629 pp. Hypertext in Hypertext. George P. Landow. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1994. 242 pp. Available in either MS Windows or Apple Macintosh versions on two 3.5 inch diskettes.

As writers and designers for Information Systems and Services, Inc., we developed hypertext/hypermedia computer‐based training and online help for the General Estimates System (GES). This article describes how this hypermedia application accomplishes the goal of improving the quality of the data entered in the GES database.

This article analyzes the ideological assumptions that have driven the conception and development of hypertext, demonstrating how it has developed from an apractical romantic viewpoint that remains a very strong driving force. The article argues that technical communicators must critique and subsequently design hypertexts that are rhetorically sound, refiguring hypertext as user‐centered, historically situated, and practical.

This article discusses collaborative design in the context of developing a Toolbook hypertext intended to introduce graduate students to the fields of rhetoric and professional communication. It examines the new grammar and rhetoric of hypertext, discusses the importance of document planning within an emergent design, and argues for a functional aesthetic.

This article presents a rationale and method for introducing a hypertext authoring assignment in a professional writing course in computer‐aided publishing. We define the technology and its relations to print. We then describe a rhetorically centered pedagogy that incorporates portfolio assessment, collaborative authoring, and real world projects for teaching hypertext within the context of situated problem‐solving theory.

Two groups of university students, approximately half with work experience, read one of two versions of the same case study narrative—a traditional, printed version or a computer version. Afterwards, both groups selected from a list of paragraphs to compose a memorandum needed to resolve the conflict in the case, and, two days later, completed a questionnaire to determine retention of the narrative. The researchers hypothesized that the subjects using the computer version would perform better and rate their version as more realistic because of this version's visuals and decision paths. The subjects using the computer version did perform somewhat better at selecting the correct final memo paragraph, but overall, the results did not show either method to be superior. The subject's previous off-campus work experience, however, did produce an impact on both the results and acceptability of the case method.

By examining computer‐related courses and faculty rationales for offering such courses, this article broadly examines how and why we commonly use computers in technical communication classrooms, and in what ways our current instruction may or may not move beyond skill building to include literacy and humanistic issues. It then broadly outlines three pedagogical challenges that lie ahead as we use computer technologies to support our teaching efforts over this decade and during the next century.

The Construction of Negotiated Meaning. A Social Cognitive Theory of Writing. Linda Flower. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1994. 334 pp. Theory and Practice in the Teaching of Writing: Rethinking the Discipline. Lee Odell, ed. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1993. 329 pp. Audience and Rhetoric: An Archaeological Composition of the Discourse Community. James A. Porter. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1992. 185 pp. Approaches to Computer Writing Classrooms: Learning from Practical Experience. Ed. Linda Myers. Albany: State U of New York P, 1993. 225 pp. The Digital Word: Text‐Based Computing in the Humanities. Ed. George P. Landow and Paul Delany. Cambridge: MIT P, 1993. 362 pp. Electronic Quills: A Situated Evaluation of Using Computers for Writing in Classrooms. Bertram C. Bruce and Andee Rubin. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1993. 232 pp. The Tech Writing Game. Janet Van Wicklen. New York: Facts on File, 1992. Marketing Yourself with Technical Writing: A Guide for Today's Professionals. William M. Vatavuk. Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers, 1992. Technical Writer's Freelancing Guide. Peter Kent. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 1992. 160 pp.

This paper discusses the needs of the Russian academic and research community in non-commercial networking, as well as the technical base for it. It also describes developments in SUEARN (Soviet Union/European Academic and Research Network) and FREEnet (Network For Research, Education and Engineering).< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

At the end of 1990, a research company (NTC-HINTECH) was formed to develop new information technologies. This article describes a project to define formal algorithms for the creation of a sequence of nodes with certain semantic properties. It also describes a project for developing a generalized hypertext network, in which the relationship between the user and the system is dynamic and flexible.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

Describes industrial information, which is information about industrial and consumer products, new technologies, and the engineering decision-making process. Today, in addition to the two information centers from the Soviet era, there are about 70 local information centers and more than 10,000 databases in Russia. The main potential information customer is the Russian government. The August 1991 coup, which led to wide-scale privatization, sharply reduced government subsidies to information centers. The production of information in a computer-readable form is now a large business, but creating this information remains a long and difficult process.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

Describes the background of the creation of SOVAM TELEPORT, the first Soviet-American venture to offer international telecommunication services using computer networks, analyzes the problems it has faced and how it has attempted to solve them, describes the organization's customers and services, and speculates on the synergistic relationship between Russian society and its telecommunications industry.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

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

Hypertext, an electronic communication medium in which information is structured and accessed according to the audience's needs and interests, is increasingly used in business and technical communication. That use may justify curricula expansion in the development of the ability to communicate in hypertext from specialty courses to a variety of business and technical courses, including the foundation course. This article provides a concise overview of hypertext for instructors who may be considering this expansion but who need to become more familiar with the medium. The basic information that is provided includes the definition, uses, and advantages of hypertext. In addition, the terminology, theoretical bases, and essential structure of hypertext are discussed. Of particular concern to business and technical communication instructors who may be considering adding hypertext to their courses are the problems that the medium presents. Discussion includes considerations of linguistic design, computer capabilities, and human performance. Finally, behaviors that business and technical communicators should exhibit to encourage the use of hypertext are presented.

A study was conducted to examine employees' reactions to computer monitoring. Associated issues that were examined included the employees' level of stress, job satisfaction and commitment; their feelings of personal control; and their opinions regarding management's use of information gathered through monitoring. Results of the study indicated that, contrary to many reports, computer monitoring can be positive when used correctly and accompanied with effective management communication. Employees' levels of stress were negatively correlated with their feelings of job satisfaction, personal control, commitment to the organization, and the employees' feelings about the appropriateness of the way in which their managers used the information gathered by monitoring. These results highlight the importance of the responsible use of monitoring, the significance of communication, and the value of recognizing and rewarding good performance.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

Structured document processors (SDPs) are specialized document production systems integrating word processing, databases, document management, and other functions. SDPs make heavy use of standardized document layout and format to convey meaning. They replace less specialized word-processing or desktop-publishing programs when a project requires production of a large interlocking system of standardized documents or the rapid generation of data-intensive documents or periodicals. Three industry examples are examined to illustrate the ways industry is using SDPs and to describe strengths and weaknesses of this new approach to document production.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>