A field's identity and sustainability depend on its research as well as on programs, practice, and infrastructure. Research and practice have a reciprocal relationship, with practice identifying research questions and researchers answering those questions to improve practice. Technical communication research also has an exploratory purpose, using…

Since the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004, standards-based individualized education plans (IEPs) have been an expectation for serving students with disabilities in the K-12 public school setting. Nearly a decade after the mandates calling for standards-based IEPs, special educators still struggle…

Conventional wisdom says that the way to win more awards is to get researchers writing more proposals. Yet many incentives designed to stimulate proposal development can be hard on the bottom line, especially those that pay researchers for their time or to attend grant-writing workshops presented by outside consulting firms. This paper presents…

This program profile describes a new approach towards integrating communication within Mechanical Engineering curricula. The author, who holds a joint appointment between Technical Communication and Mechanical Engineering at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, has been collaborating with Mechanical Engineering colleagues to establish a…

2008 marked the 10-year Anniversary of the Open Source movement, which has had a substantial impact on not only software production and adoption, but also on the sharing and distribution of information. Technical communication as a discipline has taken some advantage of the movement or its derivative software, but this article argues not as much…

Seattle University has an industrially sponsored, yearlong, senior design program that has been in existence for more than 20 years. Students work in teams of three or four under the guidance of a liaison from the sponsoring agency and a faculty advisor. The students prepare a proposal in the fall quarter detailing their plan and a design report…

Provides step-by-step directions for planning and conducting an inhouse course in business and technical writing at an engineering or technical firm. (RL)

Outlines the process of planning and developing a multimedia documentation project. Discusses audience, task, and information analysis; selection of the most appropriate media; effective design; establishment of the development team; hardware and software requirements; costs; and project planning. (SR)

Lists 23 two-year colleges that offer an associate degree or a certificate or both in technical communication. (FL)

Discusses expertise, what an expert system is, what an expert system shell is, what expert systems can and cannot do, knowledge engineering and technical communicators, and planning and managing expert system projects. (SR)

Considers some foundational, historical issues that led to the formation of a technical-communication pedagogy in the first place. Evaluates shifts in an engineering curriculum from roughly 1850 to 1960 that made possible the development of a technical-communication curriculum. (SC)

Outlines five stops that can strengthen technical writing courses and programs within departments of English. (HOD)

Poses questions--and some answers--essential to the development and expansion of technical communication offerings beyond the basic course in technical writing. (RL)

Argues that the internal agency model of a marketing communications department forces the department to compete with outside sources for work, while department members sharpen their skills and improve their knowledge of their company's business. Describes the process for creating such an internal agency, including initiating, implementing, and…

Describes how and why writing program administrators should get involved in developing a technical communication program. Discusses one such program, in which students are prepared as technical writers to enter the profession of technical communication. Suggests how to begin and how to develop ties with the industrial community. (HB)