Technical Communication Quarterly Jul 2001

Ethics of Engagement: User-Centered Design and Rhetorical Methodology

Michael J. Salvo

Abstract

Abstract This article explores the shift from observation of users to participation with users, describing and investigating three examples of user-centered design practice in order to consider the new ethical demands being made of technical communicators. Pelle Ehn's participatory design method, Roger Whitehouse's design of tactile signage for blind users, and the design of an online writing program are explored for the creation of a dialogic design ethic. The development of effective collaborative design methods requires meaningful communication between users and designers, and dialogic ethics can guide the development of effective and humane technological design methods.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2001-07-01
DOI
10.1207/s15427625tcq1003_3
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (36)

  1. Velasquez et al. (2026)
    UX → RX: creating a culture of curiosity about contemporary reading practices
    Computers and Composition
  2. Tham (2026)
    Evolving Information Design: Insights from Senior Experts in Technical and Prof…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Hunter (2024)
    Toward TPC-UX: UX Topics in TPC Journals 2013–2022
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Colby (2023)
    Embodying empathy: using game design as a maker pedagogy to teach design thinking
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Bennett et al. (2022)
    Transforming the Rights-Based Encounter: Disability Rights, Disability Justice,…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 36 →
  1. Lee (2022)
    The Ethics of Extrapolation: Science Fiction in the Technical Communication Classroom
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Swacha (2021)
    Living Visual-voice as a Community-based Social Justice Research Method in Tech…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Proszak (2021)
    Products of US Performance: A Material Rhetorical Education at North Bennet Str…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  4. Tham et al. (2020)
    Reading Born-Digital Scholarship: A Study of Webtext User Experience
    Computers and Composition
  5. Garrison-Joyner et al. (2020)
    Lapses in Literacy: Cultural Accessibility in Graphic Health Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. Sánchez (2020)
    Examining Methectic Technical Communication in an Urban Planning Comic Book
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  7. Ding (2020)
    Crowdsourcing, Social Media, and Intercultural Communication About Zika: Use Co…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  8. Richards (2019)
    An Ethic of Constraint: Citizens, Sea-Level Rise Viewers, and the Limits of Agency
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  9. Randazzo (2019)
    About Face: Reflexively Considering “Audience” in Hiring Situations
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  10. Vie (2018)
    Effective Social Media Use in Online Writing Classes through Universal Design f…
    Computers and Composition
  11. Opel et al. (2018)
    Beyond Student as User: Rhetoric, Multimodality, and User-Centered Design
    Computers and Composition
  12. Swacha (2018)
    “Bridging the Gap between Food Pantries and the Kitchen Table”: Teaching Embodi…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  13. Mara et al. (2018)
    Blending Humanistic and Rhetorical Analysis to Locate Gendered Dimensions of Ke…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  14. Bartolotta et al. (2017)
    Revising the Online Classroom: Usability Testing for Training Online Technical …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  15. Sánchez (2017)
    The Roles of Technical Communication Researchers in Design Scholarship
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  16. Boedy (2017)
    From Deliberation to Responsibility: Ethics, Invention, and Bonhoeffer in Techn…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  17. Jones et al. (2016)
    Disrupting the Past to Disrupt the Future: An Antenarrative of Technical Commun…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  18. Rose (2016)
    Design as Advocacy
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  19. Chong (2016)
    The Pedagogy of Usability: An Analysis of Technical Communication Textbooks, An…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  20. Agboka (2013)
    Participatory Localization: A Social Justice Approach to Navigating Unenfranchi…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  21. Whittemore (2012)
    Immutable Mobiles Revisited: A Framework for Evaluating the Function of Ephemer…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  22. Johnson (2010)
    The Ubiquity Paradox: Further Thinking on the Concept of User Centeredness
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  23. Walters (2010)
    Toward an Accessible Pedagogy: Dis/ability, Multimodality, and Universal Design…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  24. Sun (2009)
    Toward a Rhetoric of Locale: Localizing Mobile Messaging Technology into Everyd…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  25. Scott (2008)
    The Practice of Usability: Teaching User Engagement Through Service-Learning
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  26. McGovern (2007)
    Training Teachers and Serving Students: Applying Usability Testing in Writing P…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  27. Sun (2006)
    The Triumph of Users: Achieving Cultural Usability Goals With User Localization
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  28. Palmeri (2006)
    Disability Studies, Cultural Analysis, and the Critical Practice of Technical C…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  29. Scott (2004)
    Tracking Rapid HIV Testing Through the Cultural Circuit
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  30. Salvo (2004)
    Rhetorical Action in Professional Space
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  31. Grabill (2003)
    Community computing and citizen productivity
    Computers and Composition

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

Also cites 2 works outside this index ↓
  1. Dorazio, Patricia. "Usability Practice in the United States: Perception versus Reality." The Politics of Usab…
     ↗
  2. Ehn, Pelle. "Scandinavian Design: On Participation and Skill." Participatory Design: Principles and Practices…
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 97 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 2026
    Stance in CEO Statements from U.S. and Vietnamese Banks’ Annual Reports: A Corpus-Based Cross-Cultural Study ↗
    Minh Hieu Nguyen
    multimodality professional writing
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 2026
    An Acceptance Analysis of Firms’ Posts on Sina Weibo to Build Credibility ↗
    Chenghui Wu
    multimodality social media
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    Developing Intercultural Socioemotional Communication Skills: A Hybrid Student Exchange Project Between Kenya, Ireland, and Germany ↗
    Belinda Oechsler; Yvonne Cleary; Sissi Closs
    multimodality technical communication
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    What Video Games Can Tell Us About Interactive Technical Communication ↗
    Emily Kuzneski Johnson
    multimodality technical communication multilingual writers
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    “Is This Ethical?” New Data on the Ethical Principles and Practices of Document Design ↗
    Leslie Seawright; Amy Hodges; Timothy Ponce
    multimodality technical communication disability studies multilingual writers