Technical and Professional Writing Commons^™

Environmental Data Visualizations: Opportunities For Technical Communication Research, Alissa Schmidt

Technical Communication Capstone Course

Environmental issues touch nearly every field. Technical communication researchers have advocated for multidisciplinary environmental communication research to effectively address the depth of environmental issues and speed at which environmental issues evolve. Visuals are often used in environmental communication to help clarify complex information. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the author utilizes secondary research to answer the question, ‘how do data visualizations support environmental communication?’ This research illustrates the value of using environmental data visualizations to add credibility and to facilitate interpretation within environmental communication. Alignment among disciplines, however, is limited in other attributes of environmental data visualizations such as representing temporal …

Beyond Audience Analysis: Conceptualizing Empathy For Technical Communication, Bernadette L. Cash

Technical Communication Capstone Course

The concept of empathy involves understanding others’ perspectives. Technical communication requires knowing the context of users; however, empathy is neither a prominent term nor a common subject in the accompanying literature.

This article will establish a foundation for empathy to be conceptualized for technical communication. Several definitions of empathy will be reviewed, followed by applicable resemblances from examples pertaining to audience analysis. A wide‑ranging analysis will connect features of empathy to topics from the areas of user experience, human‑information interaction, user value, business, and design thinking.

This article concludes that there is significant value in giving empathetic attention to the …

Isolation And Onboarding: Gender Bias In Aviation Training Documents, William Hart

Technical Communication Capstone Course

There is a growing interest in male-dominated industries and the challenges women face finding their place within the workplace community. Yet, there seems to be little research on how training documents, generally created by technical communicators, may isolate and limit women who seek to pursue careers in these fields. Technical communication and gender scholars have examined women in the technical communication field and gender bias in male-dominated industries but have not yet examined gender stereotypes in training documents. Training documents are designed to provide written instructions and a reference guide for job functions, workplace rules, orientation, and company policies. This …

Inclusive Writing In Video Game Documentation: A Technical Communication Approach, Samantha N. Sousa

Technical Communication Capstone Course

This article examines the current conversation of inclusive writing in the technical communication field. Historically, the field of technical writing has been considered a straightforward and unbiased form of communication but I look to identify the pitfalls associated with these characteristics, specifically in the study of inclusive writing. By examining technical documentation through a traditionally gender-biased field of video game development, I present issues and suggest ways to implement inclusive writing through documentation. By envisioning and creating inclusive content in video games, we can expand these solutions to other areas of technical communication and strengthen the influence we have in …

Cognitive Load Theory: Applications In Medical Education, Adam W. Wissman

Technical Communication Capstone Course

This article examines how cognitive load theory can help instructional designers in medical education design material and content to best suit their audience. Through the examination of schema construction, working and long-term memory, biologically primary/secondary knowledge, and novice and experienced learners, this article proposes instructional design best practices. This article separates these best practices into three categories: activities, pre-lecture resources, and teaching strategies, which can be applied to either novice learners or experienced learners.

Millennials Expect Less And More: Workplace Writing For Today's Workforce, Gina Weber

Technical Communication Capstone Course

As the makeup of a company’s workforce changes so must their internal practices. The newest members of the professional workplace belong to the so-called Millennial generation. While there have always been challenges when new generations enter the workforce research shows that this latest generation has brought with it more challenges than previous generations. This paper looks at what is so different about this generation, how it affects the workplace, and finally, how these unique qualities can best be incorporated in a company’s policy and procedure writing to better keep the attention of this new worker. Characteristics of the generations currently …

Enterprise Content Management In Technical Communication, Kristen Bledsoe-Fritz

Technical Communication Capstone Course

The goal of this project is to examine how the evolution of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is helping to shape the role of Technical Communicator. Technical communicators are often at the forefront of Enterprise Content Management, as their job involves the creation, utilization, and distribution of most corporate content. The research conducted for this project examines the impact that Enterprise Content Management, influenced by evolving technology, has had on the expectation associated with the skillset of a technical communicator. Additionally, how technical communicators can grow and expand their skillset to serve as leaders in an ever-evolving industry is explored.

Don’T Get Lost In Translation: A Discussion Of Best Practices For Creating Translation-Friendly Text And Related Curriculum For Technical Communication, Adrienne Urban

Technical Communication Capstone Course

Within global companies, a single source document, created by a technical communicator, is often translated into more than twenty-six languages. Simple modifications to semantics and style that are incorporated upfront in the source document can save multinational companies who rely on translations vast quantities of time, money, and labor. However, the perception of English as the lingua franca has led technical communication programs to discount the importance of teaching students to write for translation. In order to address this issue, institutions of higher learning should consider revising their technical communication programs to include a writing-for-translation component. Moreover, comprehensive sources need …

Author Support For Wiki Based Help Systems: Genre Conventions For Content Templates, Claire Lundeby

Technical Communication Capstone Course

Author support systems are critical in wiki help systems. I provide a critical review of existing research on author support systems, content strategy, content management, and how these intersect, as well as a structural content analysis of five content templates in an effort to define genre conventions.