Provides analysis of the various kinds of audiences for whom technical materials are written. Describes the functions of the "watchdog" audience, who oversees the written transaction between the author and primary audience. Provides data from an ethnographic case study of engineering authors in a technical setting. (HB)

Investigates whether and how "cultural standards" influenced the use of cellular telephones by German and Chinese users. Uses focus groups, usability tests, and a questionnaire to determine how users obtained product information. Reports the varying learning and information-gathering strategies of Chinese and German users in terms of…

Discusses Industrial and Digital Age educational models, needs, and expectations of adult and traditional learners for Internet-based education; knowledge management and its impact on technical communication; the Universal Campus Network and the nature of Web-based education in the near future; elements for success for Web-based distance education…

Argues that examining leaders and leadership techniques is a valid subject for technical and professional writing and communication classes. Describes an assignment for studying leadership and provides related instructional materials. (CR)

Explores the history and theoretical paradigms associated with writing to learn in science. Asserts that the unique features of writing in traditional scientific genres such as experiment, explanation, and report promote reflection and the production of new knowledge, especially through the formation of meaningful inferences for data. Recasts the…

Discusses some of the major issues faced in attempting to assess systematically the effectiveness of business-communication courses (by assessing the level of improvement of students' writing competency). Discusses goals of assessment, type of test (standardized versus custom-made), guidelines for scoring, use of results, and reliability and…

Explores how some contemporary language usage presents challenges for technical editing and how awareness of language theory can help students expand their context for (and critically assess) current editing textbook advice on language choice. Discusses what editors and teachers of editing can do to help produce technical documents that address…

Describes a small-scale experiment in which five professional writers were asked to revise brochure fragments based on the feedback from readers. Discusses the type of feedback collected from readers and how the experiment focused on the revision phase following formative text evaluation. (SG)

Describes an approach to teaching students a basic design process for routine business documents like memos, letters, and reports. Outlines the design principles of HATS (Headings, Access, Typography, and Spacing), how they apply in before-and-after fashion to various documents, and discusses an assignment in which students redesign an existing…

Describes the life and career of Napoleon Johnson, who currently teaches journalism at Houston Community College's Central Campus. Describes Johnson's experiences as a technical writer for NASA and as a television news correspondent, highlighting the positive effects of these experiences on his career as a college instructor. (MAB)

Notes that business changes today foretell changes in education. Offers suggestions for building effective collaboration between academic institutions and industry to create an innovative, flexible, and advanced continuing education curriculum in technical communication that includes management and leadership training. (SR)

Examines the role of language in the teaching of technical report writing for first-year Engineering students at Temasek Polytechnic (Singapore). Describes, predicts, and critiques the communicative behaviors of students coming into contact with report writing. Findings indicate that good report writing can be learned through an integrative…

Investigates both students' and instructors' perspectives on issues dealing with complications of using collaborative groups. Ascertains whether the costs of collaborative writing projects outweigh the benefits. Explores ways in which teachers can maximize benefits and minimize costs. Concludes that collaborative projects are necessary and that…

Focuses on disciplinarity and underlying pedagogical goals in technical writing classrooms by describing a search engine assignment sequence which promotes literate practices in three short reports: (1) a preview/instruction report; (2) an analysis/evaluation report; and (3) a narrative review of a research activity. Concludes with implications…

Describes a worksheet used by the author to help business communication students get the most out of a set of quantitative data. Describes how the worksheet walks students through a sequence of four activities (orientation, generalization, explanation, and exploration) that help them present and interpret visual data. Discusses benefits to…