Laboratory reports written in the style of a standard scientific article are commonly used to assess student learning in biochemistry laboratory courses. While most students can complete the Materials and Methods or Results sections successfully, many have difficulty with the Introduction and Discussion. They fail to place their data in a larger…

Very few articles exist that document technical communication in Hungary. My Fulbright research reveals two general points: First, technical communication pedagogy stresses correct use of professional terms and phrases in technical translations or technical articles for fictional audiences. Second, it does not emphasize the importance of…

Relates how hypertext/hypermedia computer-based training and online help was designed for the General Estimates System (GES). Describes how this hypermedia application accomplishes the goal of improving the quality of the data entered in the GES database. (SR)

Intended primarily for use by authors, these guidelines are designed to serve as a model for the preparation of manuals and workbooks applicable to databases. They may also be used in reviewing and/or evaluating databases. A definition of a database search guide and a glossary are also provided. (CLB)

Describes the conversion of the 22,000-page Oxford English Dictionary to an electronic version incorporating a modified Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) syntax. Explains that the database designers chose structured markup because it supports users' data searching needs, allows textual components to be extracted or modified, and allows…

Rules and guidelines are provided for the preparation of abstracts and annotations for documents and journal articles entering the ERIC database. Various types of abstracts are defined, including the Informative, Indicative, and mixed Informative-Indicative. Advice is given on how to select the abstract type appropriate for the particular…

Rules and guidelines are provided for the preparation of abstracts and annotations for documents and journal articles entering the ERIC database. Various types of abstracts are defined, including the Informative, Indicative, and mixed Informative-Indicative. Advice is given on how to select the abstract type appropriate for the particular…

Outlines the evolution of automatic translation research during the last 25 years and describes the systems developed by the University of Montreal group. Defines the applicability of these systems as limited to technical texts with restricted terminology and simple grammar, their product still requiring a translator's correction and revision.…

Surveys 25 people who use databases at work to discover the ways in which social and organizational factors affect users' tasks and their acquisition of knowledge and skills. Finds that learning to use databases for complex tasks in work entails more than simply learning concepts and procedures for executing program functions. (PRA)

Analyzes postings from a database users' help bulletin board. Finds that technical instructions should concentrate on likely errors that users may commit and how they can overcome and learn from them; provide may procedural options at once; give minimal conceptual and much procedural information; and integrate troubleshooting with task procedures.…

Illustrates with two examples the use of online databases for help in translating technical words that cannot be readily found in the literature or in dictionaries. Description of search methods shows how computerized documentation can provide pinpoint access to a vast body of literature. (MES)

Describes the structure and modes of operation of the Bundessprachenamt's (BSprA: Federal Office of Languages of the Federal Republic of Germany) terminology data bank as an aid to translation. Analyzes advantages and disadvantages of each user mode, and discusses probable developments in the immediate future of machine-aided translation. (MES)

Reviews the background of the "TARGET Project for Aids to Translation," its current facilities, and its goals. Describes the system's central feature as an interactive, multilingual terminology database intended to eliminate time wasted in researching unknown terms and to facilitate final document production, study of person-machine…

Suggests that Web pages are no longer simple hand-crafted text objects, but dynamic groupings of text assembled moments before the reader views the page. Suggests that future technical editors require tighter control over information consistency and content to maximize the information content. Addresses pedagogical concerns and suggests possible…

Reporting occupies a central place in institutional research but is ongoing and never completed. With automation and data management, the proportion of time spent on either routine or ad hoc reporting should decline. This function need not draw unnecessarily from resources for more interesting work. (MSE)