Technical and Professional Writing Commons^™

Genre Exploration: Alternatives To Expository Writing In Seventh Grade Life Science, Christen Haigh

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the use of genre writing as an alternative to commonly used expository writing in the seventh grade life science classroom. My research includes student surveys and educator interviews. I surveyed 44 seventh grade science students using a Likert scale. The participating students include 1 eleven-year-old boy, 10 twelve-year-old boys, 10 thirteen-year-old boys, 1 fourteen-year-old boy, 11 twelve-year-old girls, and 11 thirteen-year-old girls. I interviewed 3 middle school science teachers who teach at public schools in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I interviewed 4 composition professors and 2 college biology professors from Rowan University, …

Handling And Preventing Journalistic Fraud: Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, Kenneth Munson

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Fraud is a growing concern in the news business, especially in recent years where numerous journalism scandals rock its foundation. This paper examines the most prominent cases: Stephen Glass, the reporter for The New Republic newsmagazine who completely or partially fabricated 27 stories in the late ‘90s; Jayson Blair, the New York Times reporter who was found to have plagiarized or made up his supposedly on-thescene reporting in 2003; and Janet Cooke, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for her Washington Post story about a child heroin addict who, in actuality, did not exist. This paper will examine flaws …

Traumatic Brain Injury : Traditional And Narrative Assessment Techniques, Sharon M. Katzman-Teller

Theses

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes impairment of executive functioning, as well as cognitive and language abilities of various degrees. Standard language tests currently focus on very specific language disorders and can not identify language disorders of TBI subjects with high-level language functioning. Although these standard tests can not adequately identify subtle language disorders, these TBI subjects lack cohesiveness in their conversation, which can have a strong effect on socialization.

Through the use of narrative analysis, research in narrative and conversational discourse, which incorporates linguistic, cognitive skills, as well as executive functioning and social abilities, seems to be more appropriately address …

Presentation Type, Perceived Credibility, And Perceived Validity : A Document Usability Analysis, Jason Langkamer-Smith

Theses

This descriptive research investigated usability measures reported by subjects who reviewed procedures formatted as decision tables and numbered lists taken from a microchip product specification document. The research subjects (n = 15) are employees of Agere Systems (headquartered in Allentown Pennsylvania, United States) where this researcher also worked as a technical writer. Subjects represented various national origins and were stratified into two groups of six Eastern and nine Western.

The independent variables, presentation type, perceived credibility, and perceived validity were studied for their interaction with the dependent variable, usability. The variable model was queried between the two groups. Three findings …

Assessment And Change : Using Verbal Analysis To Update Criteria In The Technical Communication Service Course, Michele-Andrea Fields

Theses

Assessment is the discussion, research, and analysis of information, concluding with a value of the information discussed. This project is a qualitative analysis of a Technical Communication service course assessment calibration session held in May 2005, which was recorded. After transcribing the discussion, I am using NVivo, a data coding and modeling program, to analyze the terms, categories, concepts, processes, and abstract ideas. In addition, the paper looks at how the current paradigm for technical service courses is shifting toward electronic writing and document design. The conclusion applies the results to the ongoing curriculum and criteria assessment in English 352.

Analyzing The Effects Of Single-Sourcing Methodologies On The Role Of The Technical Communicator, Jeremy Boehl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses the specific effects of single sourcing methodologies on the role of the technical communicator, his or her job responsibilities, qualifications, collaboration with coworkers, employee and employer expectations, and the effects on career progression. The methodologies discussed included all types of single sourcing methods for technical documentation (such as XML-based), advanced and non-advanced Content Management Systems (CMS), and Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems. Other topics explored are an overview of single sourcing for technical documentation, a comparison of the "craftsman model" to the current trend of single sourcing and structured content, specific effects on technical communicators such as …