Practicing “Safe” Technical Communication

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jul 2011 Open Access

Practicing “Safe” Technical Communication

Paul M. Dombrowski University of Central Florida

Abstract

The nuclear power industry is undergoing a renaissance, led by initiatives from the Obama administration and several states. In light of this development and the growing information economy, it is crucial that the public be well-informed, effective, and responsible regarding important technological issues. For this reason, undergraduate education, whether for technical or non-technical majors, must include an awareness of the complexity, ambiguity, and interestedness of the use of technical language and information. This is particularly important in communication involving public discourse and perceptions. I discuss here how I foster such awareness in my junior-level technical writing course for non-majors. We focus on the concept “safe” in relation to radiation and nuclear power. This is done in the overall context of making a recommendation for nuclear power as an energy source for the state of Florida for the next two decades, a realistic and urgent technical communication situation. Students see that standards and even the definitions of crucial terms shift depending on context and social circumstances, and that real-world choices involve trade-offs and balances between advantages and disadvantages.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 2011-07-01
DOI: 10.2190/tw.41.3.c
Open Access: OA PDF Green
Topics: graduate education technical communication multilingual writers public rhetoric

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

Digmayer et al. (2022)

Analyzing Safety Communication in Industrial Contexts

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Hirst (2016)

Bonding With the Nuclear Industry

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Whitney (2013)

The 2010 Citizens Clean Elections Voter Education Guide: Constructing the “Ille…

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (5)

Kostelnick (2007)

The Rhetorical Minefield of Risk Communication

Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Dombrowski (2006)

The Two Shuttle Accident Reports: Context and Culture in Technical Communication

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Tillery (2003)

Radioactive Waste and Technical Doubts: Genre and Environmental Opposition to N…

Technical Communication Quarterly
Dombrowski (2002)

Language and Empiricism

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Dombrowski (1992)

<i>Challenger</i>and the social contingency of meaning: Two lessons for the tec…

Technical Communication Quarterly

Also cites 5 works outside this index ↓

10.1017/S1466046603035610

↗
10.1007/978-1-4899-6002-3

↗
10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a031860

↗
10.2190/HAT

↗
10.1109/47.406727

↗

CrossRef global citation count: 3 View in citation network →