Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 2018

Agency in Action

Gregory D. Wilson Texas Tech University ; Jacob D. Rawlins Brigham Young University ; Kate Crane Eastern Washington University

Abstract

In 2014, Rawlins and Wilson proposed a typology of agential interactions between users and designers of interactive data displays. This article tests that typology by studying 20 users working with three different types of interactive data displays and answering questions, which were coded by verb and actor and analyzed for themes. The authors show that rhetorical agency is marked by thoughts, actions, and language. Affordances by the designer open a shared rhetorical space where user and designer are coparticipants. As interactivity increases, participants see themselves as rhetorical agents in a community of rhetorical agents rather than as conduits of information.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2018-10-01
DOI
10.1177/0047281617732046
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Johnson (2026)
    What Video Games Can Tell Us About Interactive Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Stephens et al. (2019)
    A Framework for User Agency during Development of Interactive Risk Visualizatio…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (6)

  1. Stephens et al. (2015)
    Evaluating the Utility and Communicative Effectiveness of an Interactive Sea-Le…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Rawlins et al. (2014)
    Agency and Interactive Data Displays: Internet Graphics as Co-Created Rhetorica…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Kimball (2006)
    London through Rose-Colored Graphics: Visual Rhetoric and Information Graphic D…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Johnson-Eilola (1996)
    Relocating the Value of Work: Technical Communication in a Post-Industrial Age
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. BARTON et al. (1993)
    Modes of Power in Technical and Professional Visuals
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 6 →
  1. SLACK et al. (1993)
    The Technical Communicator as Author
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Also cites 7 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.4324/9781410611543
     ↗
  2. 10.2190/CPIC7
     ↗
  3. 10.1177/002194369703400204
     ↗
  4. 10.1016/B978-0-08-052029-2.50007-3
     ↗
  5. Stephens, S. H. (2015, July). Interactive data visualization for risk assessment: Can there be too much user …
     ↗
  6. 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2011.12.003
     ↗
  7. 10.1027/1864-1105/a000127
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 6 View in citation network →

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