Describes a series of studies on form redesign which used usability testing to test a particular tax form. Describes testing practitioners and tax payers, the redesigning of the form, the testing of the revised form, and the value of conducting usability tests. (SR)

Offers an account of how support for user testing at one company, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa, evolved. (SR)

Describes the testing used by Department of Veteran Affairs Writing Teams to guide and validate document revisions. Presents their goals for document testing, methods of testing, and results of testing. (SR)

Describes the use of a personality assessment tool, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, to facilitate effective collaborative writing on the job and in the classroom. (PRA)

Suggests various ways of integrating intercultural communication and report writing in business communication courses by having students interview a foreign student, research his or her home country, and report the results to the class. (RAE)

Describes a project in a desktop publishing course in which students work with nonprofit and campus organizations to design brochures that fulfill important needs. Discusses specific tools students use. Describes the brochure project, project criteria, clients, text and graphics for the project, how to evaluate the project, and guidelines for…

Urges English teachers in community colleges to be familiar with and participate in core program curricula, and to design assignments tailored to students' professional needs, thus improving students' motivation and learning. (SR)

Asserts that the advantages of word processing for business writing classes are clear. Even though a teacher confronts giving up some lecture or discussion time, the hour spent in the lab frees students from tedious recopying, provides the teacher with professional-looking papers, and permits time for more writing assignments. (RAE)

Encourages business communication teachers to consider teaching a consulting course to people already in business and industry. Provides a set of directions for planning the first consulting course and suggestions for the course content. (EL)

Discusses the purpose and effects of collaborative writing in proposal development projects. Suggests how collaboration serves the larger social functions of the modern corporation. Discusses how the circumstances of proposal development affect collaboration. Describes storyboarding--a common and often highly effective tool for fostering…

Describes the "Capture Lab"--a computer-supported conference room designed to capture the thought processes, plans, and decisions of business teams. Discusses how groups have used this environment for collaborative writing. Shares observations of how users respond to the technology and how they learn to use the room. (RS)

Advocates the use of seminar participants' own written documents produced on the job as a meaningful knowledge context for a one-day seminar in business writing. (SR)

Considers several areas in which business communication instructors uphold the institutional norms of male power and why they should question doing so. Analyzes how people (including women) may be unconsciously sexist despite good intentions. Advocates prodding students to think about the relationships between business communication and power. (SR)

Describes a 10-stage process approach to teaching technical students "definition." Includes an assignment that encourages the use of the defining process. Discusses advantages of the approach. (PRA)

Describes a collaborative writing assignment which features a series of interconnected business messages arising out of a case study and including inhouse memos and an analytical report. Shows how the design of a collaborative writing assignment can foster creative rather than debilitative tension. (RS)