Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jul 2018

Coordinating Distributed Memory: An Environmental Engineer’s Proposal-Writing Process Using a Product Calculator

Kristin Marie Bivens Harold Washington College ; Kelli Cargile Cook Texas Tech University

Abstract

This case study of an environmental engineer’s proposal-writing process reveals how the engineer (Beatrice) reifies, archives, and accesses her distributed memory across physical and digital sources in order to write proposals. Based on the authors’ observations of Beatrice’s proposal-writing process and their interviews with her, they arrived at three key conclusions: Beatrice distributes her memory across multiple physical and digital sources, the (spreadsheet) product calculator helps Beatrice to manage her cognitive load and relieve her working memory, and the product calculator allows Beatrice to reassemble her distributed memory and coordinate her cognition.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2018-07-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651918762028
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
qualitative research
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Johnson-Eilola et al. (2023)
    Technical Communication as Assemblage
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Weedon et al. (2021)
    Embodied Genres, Typified Performances, and the Engineering Design Process
    Written Communication
  3. Weedon (2019)
    The Role of Rhetoric in Engineering Judgment
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 3 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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