Technical Communication Quarterly Apr 2019

Disconnecting to Connect: Developing Postconnectivist Tactics for Mobile and Networked Technical Communication

Gustav Verhulsdonck Central Michigan University ; James Melton Central Michigan University ; Vishal Shah Central Michigan University

Abstract

In a networked society, humans are connected through mobile devices to always-on networks, and these technologies merge with us in new ways. In this environment, studying human-networked interactions involves an expanded type of usability. In this article, we argue that a key component of usability is how humans connect and disconnect from these networks. For this reason, the authors advocate studying how users connect and disconnect between online and offline contexts in their everyday life. Such an effort involves questioning our assumptions about the role of connection in usability and introduces methodological issues in studying these processes. These shifts require our research to be more multidisciplinary and more methodologically demanding, with major implications for the portability and durability of technical communication research.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2019-04-03
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2019.1588377
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. Stambler et al. (2025)
    Beyond Digital Literacy: Investigating Threshold Concepts to Foster Engagement …
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  2. Hunter (2024)
    Toward TPC-UX: UX Topics in TPC Journals 2013–2022
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  3. Wright (2024)
    Perspectives on Usability Testing with IoT Devices in Technical Communication Courses
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  4. Verhulsdonck et al. (2022)
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  5. Tham et al. (2022)
    Extending Design Thinking, Content Strategy, and Artificial Intelligence into T…
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  1. Alexander et al. (2021)
    Health and Wellness as Resistance: Tactical Folk Medicine
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  2. Verhulsdonck et al. (2020)
    Creating Content That Influences People: Considering User Experience and Behavi…
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  2. Kimball (2017)
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    Technical Communication Quarterly
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  4. Verhulsdonck (2015)
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    Statistical Genre Analysis: Toward Big Data Methodologies in Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
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  1. Read et al. (2015)
    Visualizing and Tracing: Research Methodologies for the Study of Networked, Soc…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
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