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Technical and Professional Writing Commons™
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Articles 1 - 30 of 42
Full-Text Articles in Technical and Professional Writing
Communicating In Crisis: Rhetorical (De)Stabilization During The Covid-19 Pandemic., Brittany Nicole Smart
Communicating In Crisis: Rhetorical (De)Stabilization During The Covid-19 Pandemic., Brittany Nicole Smart
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This project explores the role of rhetoric in crisis—how rhetoric can contribute to both the stabilization and destabilization of a worldwide health emergency. Specifically, I utilize the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study to investigate how institutional rhetorics exacerbated the ongoing burnout epidemic amongst healthcare workers. Through a feminist, materialist take on institutional ethnography (Fullagar & Pavlidis, 2021; Griffith & Smith, 2014), I show how, while institutions like the CDC were under pressure to contain the spread of the virus, in the chaos of communicating safety regulations to healthcare professionals, they inadvertently subverted clinician autonomy and expertise by “coordinating” (LaFrance, …
Using Hashtags To Disambiguate Aboutness In Social Media Discourse: A Case Study Of #Orlandostrong, Nicholas Dearmas
Using Hashtags To Disambiguate Aboutness In Social Media Discourse: A Case Study Of #Orlandostrong, Nicholas Dearmas
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
While the field of writing studies has studied digital writing as a response to multiple calls for more research on digital forms of writing, research on hashtags has yet to build bridges between different disciplines' approaches to studying the uses and effects of hashtags. This dissertation builds that bridge in its interdisciplinary approach to the study of hashtags by focusing on how hashtags can be fully appreciated at the intersection of the fields of information research, linguistics, rhetoric, ethics, writing studies, new media studies, and discourse studies. Hashtags are writing innovations that perform unique digital functions rhetorically while still hearkening …
Playing With Usability: Why Technical Communicators Should Examine Mobile Games, Alexandra Cata
Playing With Usability: Why Technical Communicators Should Examine Mobile Games, Alexandra Cata
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examines how technical communicators can look to free, successful mobile games for mobile User Interface (UI) and User Assistance (UA) inspiration and design techniques. The purpose of this thesis is to provide an overview of major game studies theories and situate them within technical communication theory and practices. Technical communicators can leverage game studies theories to augment existing technical communication theories and practices. Specifically, I examine cognitive learning theory in game design, game usability, playability, and user-centered design, and how these theories relate to technical communication, rhetorical, mobile UI/UA, and general usability theories and methods. Additionally, I also …
Grace Hopper And The Marvelous Machine: Lessons For Modern Technical Communicators From The Mark I Ascc Manual, Jessica Meyr
Grace Hopper And The Marvelous Machine: Lessons For Modern Technical Communicators From The Mark I Ascc Manual, Jessica Meyr
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Women's technical writing achievements often go unrecognized, both due to the invisibility of technical writing professionals in general, and a lack of famous technical communication role models in particular. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and present an early major work in the technical writing of Rear Admiral "Amazing" Grace Hopper, inventor of the compiler and an important figure in computer science history. Although Hopper is arguably best known for popularizing the idea of the "computer bug," her achievements in computer science extend from invention of the software compiler to tireless promotion of the programming language COBOL. Her …
The Modern Church Communicates: Rhetoric And Hypertext In Church Website Design, Edward Palmer
The Modern Church Communicates: Rhetoric And Hypertext In Church Website Design, Edward Palmer
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Internet and the World Wide Web have supplanted many paper-based information systems. People turn to the web to locate local services in the same way they find ecommerce sites such as Amazon. Churches of all sizes must develop effective and attractive websites to attract new members and inform existing members. These two groups form distinct audiences that must be correctly targeted by the website content. Other churches may visit to gather ideas for their programs; they are a third group of site visitors. Organization of hypertext on the web requires skills that are different than writing for print. Technical …
The Role Of Occupational Branding In The Professionalization Of Technical Communication, Chelsea Thomas
The Role Of Occupational Branding In The Professionalization Of Technical Communication, Chelsea Thomas
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study investigates the relationship between professional identity and professional status by exploring the quest for professionalization within technical communication. An established professional identity is crucial to an occupation's professionalization process, as it enables members of a given field to create a common sense of being and facilitates a recognizable personal and collective identity. Such recognition is vital to an occupation's rise to professional status, as it creates a distilled image of the ideal practitioner for outsiders and forms the basis upon which claims of expertise may be made. By constructing the meaning surrounding their profession, members are able to …
The State Of The Anti-Union Address: A Rhetorical Critique Of Select Service Worker Training Methods, Richard Ries
The State Of The Anti-Union Address: A Rhetorical Critique Of Select Service Worker Training Methods, Richard Ries
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This is an interdisciplinary master's level thesis that explores links among technical writing, training manuals, surveillance, and anti-union rhetoric used with service workers in select American chains and franchises. Brief histories are provided, including those of technical writing, the rise of unions in America, and how technical writing became inextricably linked with labor. A major shift occurred in the 20th century when workers began interacting less with products and more with the public. The research focuses on training manuals, techniques, and rehearsed dialogues of McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Whole Foods, Panera, and Publix, though similar organizations are referenced. Service worker language, …
Technical Communicators In Marketing: Switching Roles And Changing Ethical Perspectives When Working With Content Marketing, Nicole Alvarez
Technical Communicators In Marketing: Switching Roles And Changing Ethical Perspectives When Working With Content Marketing, Nicole Alvarez
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis presents an alternate career path for technical communicators in the area of content marketing and expands on the ethical and goal-related issues associated with a career change to a marketing-focused role. Many of the skills necessary for technical communication are transferable to marketing communication roles; however, a successful career change requires that technical communicators understand how the ethical values and goals of marketing professionals can differ from those of technical communicators. Through a detailed literature review and autoethnographic study, this thesis discusses the performance goals of marketing professionals to determine how these clash with those of technical communicators. …
Creating And Examining An Online Advising Module For Graduate Students: A Usability Study, Leah Mitchell
Creating And Examining An Online Advising Module For Graduate Students: A Usability Study, Leah Mitchell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Advisors are always examining best practices when serving students with technology. Online instruction has become a popular choice for students in higher education, and educators and other student personnel are looking to further accommodate their students by including academic services as part of a virtual environment. This study examines the usefulness of an online advising module geared at graduate students. I conducted a usability study of an online advising module created for graduate students in the College of Education and Human Performance (CEDHP) at the University of Central Florida. The online advising module was presented to current graduate students in …
Female Bias In Technical Communication And An Exploration Of Pedagogical Strategies For Reversing The Bias, Rebecca Beeson
Female Bias In Technical Communication And An Exploration Of Pedagogical Strategies For Reversing The Bias, Rebecca Beeson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis explores technical communication and seeks to establish that females outnumber males in the field while also holder more high-level positions. It further seeks to show why a field does not benefit from having one sex outnumber the other. The benefits of having an equal number of females and males contributing to the growth and expansion of the field are discussed. Finally, this thesis discusses potential pedagogical strategies which could be employed at the college level as a means of attracting more young men to the field and allowing for maximum growth of technical communication as a field of …
The Relevance Of Benjamin Franklin's And Thomas Jefferson's Technical Writing For Modern Communicators, Kristin Fecko
The Relevance Of Benjamin Franklin's And Thomas Jefferson's Technical Writing For Modern Communicators, Kristin Fecko
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Today's technical communicators enjoy an increasingly broader role and influence in the workplace, and are often given latitude to use engaging rhetoric and personal touches in many kinds of communications. Historical documents, particularly those that are substantially removed from our own era, can offer fresh approaches and insight into the enduring elements of successful communication. This study explores the technical writings of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and considers their usefulness to professionals today. Although the political writing of Franklin and Jefferson is more familiar, both men frequently wrote about scientific and technical subjects and were well-known in their day …
Narrative In Technical Communication, James Fenn
Narrative In Technical Communication, James Fenn
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The focus of this research is on the involvement of narrative learning within technical communication and the benefits that such an involvement can bring to the field. I analyze literature from within technical communication to determine how narrative is perceived, as well as the traditions in technical communication that made the field resistant to the use of narrative in the past. These findings are considered with respect to the history and definition of narrative, as well as to how narrative can improve learning outcomes when compared to expository learning approaches commonly used in technical documentation. While narrative is not a …
Technical Communicators And Writing Consultants: Identity And Expertise, Nichole Cepero
Technical Communicators And Writing Consultants: Identity And Expertise, Nichole Cepero
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This paper examines the roles of technical communicators and writing center consultants in regards to their identities and the expertise that they bring to what they do. Both fields have struggled with a lack of understanding surrounding what their positions entail and more importantly how they perform in their roles. With this in mind, the goal of this paper is to analyze how the growth of each field and the variations of each position contribute to the issue of identity. Furthermore, as a result of the identity problem that faces each position, I suggest using the theory of liminality, communication …
Technical Illustration: The Changes And Challenges Presented By Advancements In Technology, Cindy Caudill
Technical Illustration: The Changes And Challenges Presented By Advancements In Technology, Cindy Caudill
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis investigates the changes and challenges technology has created in the field of technical illustration. Technical illustration includes the fields of technical drawing as well as scientific and medical illustration. Previously, technical illustrators learned and used traditional illustration methods, without the aid of computers. However, technology has rapidly entered the field and has changed the education, work environment, skills, and role of the technical illustrator. I note both the benefits and disadvantages that current technical illustrators are facing in their work. I explore both sides of the digital media and traditional art debate while focusing on the technical illustrator's …
On Copyright Law: What Technical Communicators Need To Know, Mariana Chao
On Copyright Law: What Technical Communicators Need To Know, Mariana Chao
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Copyright law, in general, is a multi-faceted and sometimes difficult to understand process. Although it is law, it is often not straight-forward and cannot be applied universally. While the concepts of copyright infringement and plagiarism may sometimes overlap, many confuse one for the other or think they are the same offense. This thesis is intended to serve as a primer to some basic aspects of copyright law for technical communicators, including issues surrounding public domain works, the fair use doctrine, the copyright clearance process, as well as why we should be concerned about our current copyright laws. Over the past …
The Ethos Of Humor In Technical Communication, David Roberts
The Ethos Of Humor In Technical Communication, David Roberts
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Within the realm of technical communication, humor has often been regarded as an unnecessary or risky rhetorical device that can negatively impact the credibility of a document. While many other professional fields, such as medicine, computer technology fields, or business have used humor, and humor continues to crop up in "user as producer" documentation, technical writing continues to approach humor cautiously and with little theoretical guidance. In order to fully understand how humor functions, it is important to understand the main theories of humor: superiority, relief, and incongruity. It is also important to understand how humor functions, by looking at …
Intercultural Communication In The Global Age: Lessons Learned From French Technical Communicators, Nicole Tallman
Intercultural Communication In The Global Age: Lessons Learned From French Technical Communicators, Nicole Tallman
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis explores the cultural considerations American technical communicators must address when working with French colleagues and when creating technical documentation for French audiences. A review of the literature on intercultural communication theory was conducted, along with a review of the limited research on technical communication in France and the needs of French audiences. A qualitative online survey of French technical communicators was also conducted. Through this survey, French technical communicators reported on their intercultural beliefs, experiences, and practices, and information, language, and cultural needs. Survey responses were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Two main themes were developed as a …
Virtual Teams And Intercultural Ethics: Preventative Measures For Ethical Dilemmas, Rebecca Blanton
Virtual Teams And Intercultural Ethics: Preventative Measures For Ethical Dilemmas, Rebecca Blanton
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examines the ethical challenges faced by technical communicators working in global virtual teams. Virtual teams usage are becoming increasingly more popular and diverse. As a result, it is valuable for technical communicators to understand and recognize the challenges that are faced within global virtual teams in order to find solutions and preventive measures for these challenges. The ethical challenges present in global virtual teams were determined by examining the literature on virtual teams and intercultural ethics and conducting a survey of practicing technical communicators who have experience in virtual teams. The purpose of the survey was to determine …
Gender Bias In The Technical Disciplines, Jessica Lynn Campbell
Gender Bias In The Technical Disciplines, Jessica Lynn Campbell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study investigates how women are affected by gender bias in the workplace. Despite the increasing numbers of women in the workforce, women are still under-represented and under-valued in workplaces, which, in part, is due to their gender stereotype. This study demonstrates how gender bias in the workplace has been proven to limit women in their careers and potential in their occupational roles. The media’s negative depiction of women in their gender stereotype reinforces and perpetuates this image as a cultural norm in society. Women both conform and are judged and evaluated according to their weak and submissive gender stereotype. …
Simulations For Financial Literacy, Angela Hamilton
Simulations For Financial Literacy, Angela Hamilton
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Financially literate consumers are empowered with the knowledge and skills necessary to make sound financial decisions that ensure their long-term economic well-being. Within the context of the range of cognitive, psychological, and social factors that influence consumer behavior, simulations enhance financial literacy by developing consumers’ mental models for decision-making. Technical communicators leverage plain language and visual language techniques to communicate complex financial concepts in ways that consumers can relate to and understand. Simulations for financial education and decision support illustrate abstract financial concepts, provide a means of safe experimentation, and allow consumers to make informed choices based on a longitudinal …
The Gender Gap In Technical Communication: How Women Challenge The Predominant Objectivist Paradigm, Nathan Bower
The Gender Gap In Technical Communication: How Women Challenge The Predominant Objectivist Paradigm, Nathan Bower
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Women are currently underrepresented in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The purpose of this thesis is to explore how this underrepresentation translates to a gender gap in the field of technical communication and how this gap causes women to challenge the predominant objectivist paradigm in the field. Through an investigation of peer-reviewed journal articles, periodicals, critical theory, and articles published in online magazines such as Slate, I identify the gendered nature of modern technology and discuss to what extent a shift in the predominant paradigm has occurred in the professional arena. In looking at several theoretical approaches …
Technology Implementation In K-12 Schools: A Research Study Of Perceptions And Practice, Kaitlin Martinez
Technology Implementation In K-12 Schools: A Research Study Of Perceptions And Practice, Kaitlin Martinez
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, even though 97% of classrooms have at least one instructional computer available, only 40% of teachers in public schools (including elementary and secondary) report using computers in the classroom often. My project aims to illustrate the barriers that are keeping K-12 teachers from integrating technology in their classrooms, such as the lack of availability for training, teacher’s lack of knowledge or schooling, or a lack of IT support. It also discusses possible solutions to the problem, such as teacher training and better resources. By assessing the Level of Technology Integration, or LoTi, …
Gender Composition Of Online Technical Communication Collaborations, Erika A. Wardell
Gender Composition Of Online Technical Communication Collaborations, Erika A. Wardell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Online collaborations are more prevalent in society due to electronic communication allowing students and professionals to communicate with each other, without needing to spend time or money traveling. The lack of visual cues in electronic communication means writing styles primarily set the tone of a message. A group member‟s gender can affect his or her writing style and what he or she assumes about the message. The differing writing styles and potential gender bias can cause misunderstandings, which delay projects and sometimes lead to ostracizing a group member. The gender composition of an online collaboration, therefore, can have a positive …
Xml Beyond The Tags, Christopher Adam Meloy
Xml Beyond The Tags, Christopher Adam Meloy
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
XML is quickly being utilized in the field of technical communication to transfer information from database to person and company to company. Often communicators will structure information without a second thought of how or why certain tags are used to mark up the information. Because the company or a manual says to use those tags, the communicator does so. However, if professionals want to unlock the true potential of XML for better sharing of information across platforms, they need to understand the effects the technology using XML as well as political and cultural factors have on the tags being used. …
A Study Of The Grant Writing Policies And Practices Of Municipalities In Polk County Florida Having A Population Less Than 25,000, Michael Scott Carter
A Study Of The Grant Writing Policies And Practices Of Municipalities In Polk County Florida Having A Population Less Than 25,000, Michael Scott Carter
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study is to identify the grant writing policies and practices of the fifteen municipalities in Polk County, Florida having a population less than 25,000, compare these findings qualitatively, and to present the data in a form usable by any city in Polk County so each city can make any needed adjustments to their grant writing strategy that will increase their success of grant funding. This study is needed now because smaller cities are continuing to feel the effects of the recession, a slumping housing market, and a reduction of real estate property values which means lower …
Connecting Visual Design And Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions The United States, Latin America And Spain, Suzanne Mcdonough
Connecting Visual Design And Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions The United States, Latin America And Spain, Suzanne Mcdonough
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
My thesis discusses whether culture can be used to predict visual design preferences in documentation and whether cultures with similar attributes demonstrate similar visual design preferences. The visual design of a document is an important element in effective communication to an audience. If the audience is outside the United States, it is important to understand the attributes of that culture to create documents that are most effective for the audience. Cultural theorist Geert Hofstede describes cultural attributes in terms of six cultural dimensions: individualism versus collectivism, high versus low power distance, high versus low uncertainty avoidance, masculinity versus femininity, long-term …
E-Portfolios And Digital Identities Using E-Portfolios To Examine Issues In Technical Communication, Jane E. Moody
E-Portfolios And Digital Identities Using E-Portfolios To Examine Issues In Technical Communication, Jane E. Moody
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Technical writing teachers have always struggled with understanding how to best deal with pedagogical issues including rapidly changing technology, audience construction, and transposing an academic ethos into a professional one. The expanding online world complicates these issues by increasing the pace of digital change, making the potential audience both more diffuse and more remote, and creating a more complex online rhetorical situation. E-portfolios provide a vivid way to examine this complex technological situation, and in this study, the author examines four cases of students creating online portfolios in a technical communication classroom. The author looks at both their e-portfolio process …
Clinical Practice Guidelines For Emerging Ultrasound Applications Drafting For Validity And Usability, Kathi Keaton Borok
Clinical Practice Guidelines For Emerging Ultrasound Applications Drafting For Validity And Usability, Kathi Keaton Borok
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are viewed by many people with interests in health care as valuable tools for reducing practice variations that undermine patient outcomes and increase medical costs. However, guidelines themselves vary in quality. Assessment tools generally base quality measures on strength of guidelines' evidence base, but particularly for newly emerging applications of ultrasound, standards for measuring guideline quality are controversial. The validity of a guideline is considered likely when strong research-based evidence supports its recommendations, but for newer medical procedures such as emerging ultrasound applications, available evidence is sparse. Existing assessment tools must be modified if they are …
Implementing Usability Testing Of Technical Documents At Any Company And On Any Budget, Meghan Collins
Implementing Usability Testing Of Technical Documents At Any Company And On Any Budget, Meghan Collins
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In my thesis I discuss the cost effectiveness of usability testing of technical documents and how any size company with any size budget can implement usability testing. Usability is achieved when the people who use products or technical documents can do so quickly and easily to accomplish their own tasks. Usability testing is best defined as the process of studying users to determine a documentation project's effectiveness for its intended audience. Users are tired of dealing with confusing and unintuitive technical documentation that forces them to either call customer service for help on simple issues or throw out the product …
Defining Workplace Information Fluency Skills For Technical Communication Students, Yuejiao Zhang
Defining Workplace Information Fluency Skills For Technical Communication Students, Yuejiao Zhang
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Information fluency refers to the ability to recognize information needs and to gather, evaluate, and communicate information appropriately. In this study, I treat "information fluency" as both an overall competency and as a collection of knowledge and skills. The purpose of this study is to explore the specific workplace information fluency skills valued by employers of technical communicators, to find out how instructors perceive and teach these skills, and to suggest how these findings can inform our teaching practices. Within the framework of qualitative methodology, this study employs two data-collection instruments, including a content analysis of online job recruitment postings …