Carol Siri Johnson

Prediscursive Technical Communication in the Early American Iron Industry

Examining the discourse surrounding the charcoal iron industry between 1760 and 1860 in North America, this article suggests that, prior to the industrialization of work, technical communication took place in a prediscursive setting, an oral and physical world that we can just manage to glimpse even as we watch it recede. The letters of Robert Erskine written in 1770 illustrate the prediscursive methods of technical communication. By the 1860s, a flood of governmental, professional, and commercial publications appeared, each signifying the disappearance of this prediscursive world. This transition from prediscursive to discursive methods may mark one of the largest changes in the history of technical communication.

The steel bible : A case study of 20th century technical communication

The “steel bible” emerged in 1919 and went through 11 editions in 80 years. In its evolution we can see the shift from individual to group authorship, an increasing use of visual elements, and a physical change from a small, hand-held volume to a weighty desktop reference. In a textual analysis, we can see that it was essentially static, changing only by additions and deletions, as the industry evolved. The eventual closing of hundreds of plants and the migration of the industry to other countries can be seen in the change of publisher, the sudden absence of photography, and the international references. Originally, the steel bible came from the factory floor and the words of the plant managers, but by the 1990s, it was a highly-abstracted representation of knowledge. In the steel bible, we can see the history of the industry and the maturing of technical communication in the 20th century.

Negotiating borders between separate male and female workspaces

This paper describes a conference in Saudi Arabia where it is customary for women to cover themselves, showing only face and hands, and to have separate conference rooms. An underlying theme is whether it is possible to have collaborative and a consequential exchange of ideas in a culture that operates differently from standard Western educational practice. The conference, held in Riyadh, was “The First International Conference on Assessment & Evaluation” and the subject was “Admission Criteria in Higher Education.” This paper discusses both the different cultural communication practices and the subject matter of the conference, which was global college admissions, problems in teaching dominant languages such as Arabic and English, and writing assessment methods. Four main themes were 1) the controversy surrounding attempts to quantify “non-cogs” (non-cognitive indicators) in the admissions process, 2) descriptions of cultural differences in global college admissions tests, 3) the importance teaching and testing L2 (second languages) by focusing on language as a means of communication rather than a set of rules, and 4) problems in achieving rater consistency in local writing assessments. In conclusion and contrary to Western expectations, the separation of men and women did not inhibit intellectual exchange but instead encouraged it.

Knowledge management and the teaching of technical communication: where does knowledge reside in the theory vs. practice debate?

This article looks at the current theory vs. practice debate in the teaching of technical communication from the viewpoint of knowledge management and transfer. Where does the most relevant knowledge reside and how best can it be communicated? In an attempt to answer this question, surveyed are eight articles from three journals, exploring the source of each and its position in relation to knowledge management. It is concluded that the workplace provides data, the academy provides information, but knowledge always resides in people. A secondary finding is that class issues still play a role in the techne vs. praxis debate. Theory has a higher status than practice and this disparity leads to exclusionary tactics that can limit knowledge generation and transfer, especially in regard to multicultural and multinational knowledge workers. A recommendation is that exclusionary practices should be avoided and language should be simplified in order to include the greatest possible number of participants in the knowledge-making process.