Preparing the technical communicator of the future

It is observed that advances in information technology are drastically changing the profession of technical communication and the role of the technical communicator in developing and managing information. It is argued that educators must face the challenge posed by these advances to prepare students for the profession as it is now and as it will be in the future. It is suggested that one answer to this challenge is experiential learning theory, which places experience at the center of the learning process     

Using learning communities to teach technical communication inaccounting

The paper describes the implementation of a learning community involving a technical communication course and an accounting course. Students are simultaneously registered in all the courses constituting the learning community. The learning community approach to writing instruction can be viewed as one way to implement writing across the curriculum with the following distinguishing features. First, students are registered simultaneously for both courses; the communication skills taught in one course are simultaneously reinforced in another course. Second, the faculty of the two courses interact extensively to deliver skills (e.g., communication skills) in a coherent manner across the two courses. We describe the development of a theoretical framework for connecting the two courses. This theoretical framework guided implementation decisions such as the choice of communication skills to be covered in the accounting course, the design of assignments, and the design of evaluation criteria. While we focus on the integration of an accounting course with a communication course, the learning community approach and the implementation steps are applicable to other disciplines     

Designing communication systems for decentralized organizations: anew role for technical communicators

It is pointed out that many organizations have decentralized their operations to respond more quickly to rapid changes in markets and technologies. Decentralization has legitimized crossfunctional communication and decision making at relatively low levels in these organizations as a means of improving the quantity and timeliness of information. However, decentralization can adversely affect an organization's communications unless a new communication system is designed as part of the altered communication process. It is suggested that working within a new approach to organizational change, called sociotechnical design, technical communicators can help define performance standards for new communication systems, including those integrated with computer-mediated information systems. The objectives of sociotechnical design are consistent with the language-action perspective of the modern office. That perspective asserts that language organizes work relationships and actions by means of conversations (or transactions) in which requests and promises are made among individuals and groups. These conversations are structured by procedures, policy guides, handbooks, training materials, and a host of other communications     

试论网络虚拟信息化团队的沟通

知识经济时代和信息化时代的来临，对现代人类生活产生了广泛而深远的影响，这不仅改变了人们的生活与工作，并推动了相关产业的蓬勃发展，网络虚拟信息化的产生、传播和获取都有了新的方式，给传统行业带来新的冲击。网络虚拟信息化团队（简称：虚拟团队）以信息沟通技术为连通，最大化的整合了人力智力资源，能有效的提高企业的竞争力，因此被越来越多的企业所青睐。近几年来，虚拟团队更是以迅雷般的速度席卷全球，在世界各个角度，铺盖了各个行业各个领域。本文通过研究分析虚拟团队沟通的有效性影响因素，对当下虚拟团队中有效性沟通存在的问题提出建设性意见。     

Effective communication: tips on technical writing

The impact of a technical article may have as much to do with how well it is presented as with the engineering or scientific significance of the work. A well-written article is easier to understand and easier to remember; the more readers that remember your work, the higher the likelihood it will get cited. This article reviews some basic principles and discusses a few tips (dos and don'ts) about writing technical papers.     

Using mechatronics to teach mechanical design and technical communication

It is commonly accepted that hands-on experiences increase both learning and enjoyment during coursework. Mechatronics projects provide both interesting and relevant hands-on experiences for a wide range of topics including design processes, basic mechatronics concepts, technical communication, and working in a group environment. ME2110: Creative Decisions and Design at Georgia Tech integrates mechatronics and technical communication into a sophomore level mechanical design class. This paper describes the course in detail, highlighting the course goals and layout, tools provided to the students, industry involvement, and the main challenges of administering such a course.     

Ethics and technical communication: a case for foundationalapproaches

The study of ethics is important for technical communication students and professionals because as workers and as citizens they confront ethical dilemmas and must act. The article describes and contrasts several foundational and nonfoundational ethical approaches. Analyzing two well known ethics cases from the perspective of the different approaches, it is argued that although foundational approaches are limited, they provide better insights than do nonfoundational approaches. Finally, the article describes a problem solving technique, based on foundational approaches and communicative ethics, that can be used by technical communication students and professionals to analyze ethical dilemmas     

关于通信时间同步网技术性能的探讨

针对通信时间同步网的关键性能指标,对比国内外相关技术标准的差异,并结合通信技术和业务发展对于同步性能的需求,探讨时间同步网端到端同步性能指标分配模型、时间偏差值限定等。     

Inter-vehicle communication: technical issues on vehicle controlapplication

Mutual exchange of status data between vehicles in close proximity is the basis for safe vehicle operation. Application areas range from driver assistance/warning to fully autonomous driving. To enable this data exchange we need an intervehicle communication (IVC) system. Vehicles involved in mutual data exchange form a kind of local area network; however, the characteristics of this network are quite different from those of conventional networks. The configuration of this kind of network changes from time to time, in terms of organization, proximity group, group position, and relative position; therefore, it is very challenging to establish. The authors have been working on this problem from the point of view of communication media and protocol. The characteristics and requirements of IVC are discussed, and several preliminary communication protocols are proposed. The authors also present some experimental results from the implementation of a function integrating communication by infrared ray with a gap-measuring technique by the vision system     

刍议供电企业基层党组织如何发挥战斗堡垒作用

随着改革开放的不断深入,我国社会结构以及经济体制都在不断改变,因此为企业党组织的建设工作带来了巨大的挑战.就目前而言,我国电力企业党支部工作的现状是基层党支部的人员少,但是工作任务重,就使得党支部队伍相对薄弱,并且各支部没有专职的书记,从而弱化的党群工作.因此本文将对供电企业基层党组织如何发挥战斗堡垒作用进行分析探讨,从而为我国供电企业的持续发展提供帮助.     

Going beyond the native speaker in technical communication

Vivian Cook, University of Essex, advises his fellow EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers to view their students as multicompetent language users rather than as deficient native speakers. The same advice can readily be given to technical writers and editors who may occasionally struggle to adapt the writing of nonnative speaking (NNS) engineers, researchers, and programmers to style book norms. This approach certainly applies to those of us who work with or manage NNS colleagues. Although addressed to language teachers, the author considers how Cook's observations have validity for many workplace interactions in the growing international community     

如何更好地发挥无线电管理地理信息系统的作用

通过介绍全国无线电管理地理信息系统近9年的发展历程，展示地理信息系统在全国无线电管理工作中所发挥的重要作用，并阐述了地理信息系统未来的发展目标和思路。     

Material culture analysis and technical communication: the artifact approach to evaluating documentation

Usability testing and documentation review are vital components of every documentation release cycle; yet some project timelines and budgets overlook these essentials. The art history process of material culture analysis can help alleviate this oversight. Applied to documentation, material culture analysis can provide insight into the writer's personal values to expose potentially detrimental mismatches between the values of the writer and of the intended audience.     

基于IEEE802.15.4的自行车队无线通信系统

文中提出一种通过IEEE802.15.4网络标准实现的无线通信系统方案,应用于小规模自行车队伍的队内通信。该无线通信系统使用CC2530 So C作为主控芯片,无需借助外界通信网络,通过自行车队员组成一个独立局域通信网络。系统使用TI-MAC软件框架进行开发,具有语音通信、网络监测和播报状态的功能。     

Defining the role of a technical communicator in the development ofinformation systems

The profession of technical communication is difficult to define in scope, and the work performed by its members is even more difficult to quantify. The work crosses many disciplines and the skills needed to effectively undertake these tasks are broad. In the area of systems development, technical. Communicators have the skills to perform many tasks, especially those related to human factors, and yet much of their contribution goes unrecognized. A recent survey of Australian technical communicators sought to more clearly identify their work in the area of systems development; this paper presents and discusses the results of that survey     

Semantic bypassing in technical communication: the historical caseof antiseptics

The problem known as bypassing is explored using a historical example, the medical term `antiseptics', to show the impact that bypassing can have on communication of technical information. The term antiseptics was in use for over 150 years before Joseph Lister adopted it in the 1860s to describe his system of surgical treatment. A review of published responses of Canadian doctors to Lister's writings indicates that confusion arose because of the fundamentally different perceptions of the term for Lister and his audience     

How to lead a self-managing team

This work discusses the teams that are basically left to run themselves can be highly efficient and productive. To be successful, though, such autonomous groups require a specific type of external leadership. To get work done, many companies organize employees into self-managing teams that are basically left to run themselves with some guidance from an external leader. In fact, comprehensive surveys report that 79% of companies in the fortune 1000 and 81% of manufacturing organizations currently deploy such "empowered", "self-directed" or "autonomous" teams. Because of their widespread use, much research has been devoted to understanding how best to set up self-managing teams to maximize their productivity and effectiveness. Interestingly, though, relatively little attention has been paid to the leaders who must oversee such working groups.     

驰骋辉煌助力车辆管理

北京驰骋辉煌数码科技有限公司欲在北京开通驰骋辉煌互联网车辆管理服务平台,该平台将利用联通的GSM/SMS、和CDMA网络与GPS结合,使用互联网NEXUSMAP技术构建而成.该技术于1999年在日本NNT、DOCOMO公司使用开通DOCO-CAR互联网车辆管理平台,经两年来的运营用户达6万.北京驰骋辉煌数码科技有限公司将该系统汉化、和北京的电子地图转化于2002年6月首先在联通的GSM/SMS上做了系统调试.公司结合日本开拓市场的成功经验与中国市场的特性,经5个月的系统测试与市场开拓,该系统具备了开通10万用户容量和北京市场的准备.目前驰骋辉煌互联网车辆管理服务平台(www.cchh-bj.com)已做好开台工作.     

Knowledge transfer across disciplines: tracking rhetorical strategies from a technical communication classroom to an engineering classroom

This article presents findings from an empirical study investigating the transfer of rhetorical knowledge, defined as audience awareness, sense of purpose, organization, use of visuals, professional appearance, and style, between the technical communication and the engineering disciplines. Various data collection methods were used to examine the skills and rhetorical knowledge students learned in a technical communication course and determine whether or not students relied on that knowledge as they completed writing assignments in an engineering course. Also examined was the effect of workplace experiences on shaping students' rhetorical knowledge. This study indicated that students did appear to transfer rhetorical strategies between different contexts, and those strategies were learned in the workplace as well as the classroom.