Technical Communication Quarterly Dec 2007

Metadata and Memory: Lessons from the Canon ofMemoriafor the Design of Content Management Systems

Stewart Whittemore Michigan State University

Abstract

To date, most of the research on usability and content management systems has focused on the end-user products of such systems rather than on the usability for technical communicators of the single-source authoring tools offered within these systems. While this latter research is undeniably important, attention needs to be paid to the plight of technical communicators attempting to use single-sourcing tools. Otherwise, technical communicators in workplaces risk becoming semi-skilled contingent labor rather than empowered knowledge workers. This essay, therefore, attempts to open a debate about the design of content management systems by turning to the rhetorical canon of memory as an appropriate source for insights into how stored information can be flexibly retrieved and used during composing activities.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2007-12-27
DOI
10.1080/10572250701590893
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Topics
rhetorical criticism argument technical communication labor and working conditions
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (11)

  1. Gattis (2023)
    A Study of Lexical Repetition and the Comprehensibility of Single-Sourced Techn…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Ranade et al. (2020)
    Humanistic communication in information centric workplaces
    Communication Design Quarterly
  3. Bivens et al. (2018)
    Coordinating Distributed Memory: An Environmental Engineer’s Proposal-Writing P…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Batova et al. (2017)
    A Systematic Literature Review of Changes in Roles/Skills in Component Content …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Bourelle et al. (2015)
    Multimodality in the Technical Communication Classroom: Viewing Classical Rheto…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 11 →
  1. Andersen et al. (2015)
    The Current State of Component Content Management: An Integrative Literature Review
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Jones (2014)
    Switching in Twitter’s Hashtagged Exchanges
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Getto (2013)
    Networked knowledges: student collaborative digital composing as communicative action
    Communication Design Quarterly
  4. Rivers (2011)
    Future Convergences: Technical Communication Research as Cognitive Science
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Turnley (2011)
    Towards a Mediological Method: A Framework for Critically Engaging Dimensions o…
    Computers and Composition
  6. Ittersum (2009)
    Distributing Memory: Rhetorical Work in Digital Environments
    Technical Communication Quarterly

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