Philip Rubens

Reinventing the Wheel?: Ethics for Technical Communicators

At present the ethical concerns for technical communicators are narrowly defined in terms of management issues. Ethical problems cannot be solved by such a simplistic view. Instead we need to explore the ethical nature of the professional fields technical and science writing supports, the ethical positions in closely related fields, and the work that has already been accomplished in the general area of communication ethics. Once we have established such a foundation, we can begin to explore the most basic influences inherent in language uses on ethical concerns.

A Reader's View of Text and Graphics: Implications for Transactional Text

The underlying principles of graphic theory have been largely ignored by the technical and scientific communication community. This impatience with theory creates numerous problems for readers of technical information since about 30 percent of such material is graphic in nature. This article offers an overview of the major theoretical schools that have some importance for these fields and discusses their implications for the design and preparation of referential texts.

Online information, traditional page design, and reader expectation

The author argues that online information must focus on traditional reader expectations in the creation of layout features for specific tasks. Typical screen limitations must also be considered in terms of the limits they impose on typical user interactions and navigation techniques. To address both these issues, screen geometries must be applied to functional designs. In addition, information developers need to consider the educational value in the computers novel capabilities, such as sound, motion, and time.

The cartoon and ethics: Their role in technical information

The author provides an overview of the application of cartoons in technical information. The theory of cartoons is tied to a rhetorical view of communication in that cartoons are deliberate deformations of realities. In addition to this rhetorical basis, the cartoon also depends on cultural biases and the recognition of certain iconic types to be useful communication elements. Based on a discussion of this theoretical and historical background, several guidelines for the use of cartoons in technical information are offered.

Layout and Highlighting in On-Line Information

Sixty subjects were shown online information similar to commercially marketed microcomputer software. Information content was held constant across experimental groups, while the following layout features are manipulated: multicolor and monochrome highlighting; single and two-column arrangement of text; and short, medium and long text lines. Eye movement of some subjects was monitored by an eyecamera system; and keystroke errors were monitored for other subjects. Response speed was monitored for all subjects.

Communicating with icons as computer commands

If one attempts to define the salient features of a conventional sign system, one could suggest that it will have three aspects: leveling, sharpening, and assimilation El]. Leveling simply means that extraneous detail and objects have been deleted. Sharpening involves making the remaining detail stand-out from the background. Finally, assimilation means that exaggeration and other deformation techniques are used to interpolate from mimetic, or real, to imaginative, or metaphoric, detail. Techniques of this variety allow developers of icons to represent fairly complex environments with relatively simple graphics. Since computer screens and memory both have their own varieties of limitations, employing techniques such as these help information developers create useful iconic representations within a limited operating hamework.

Designing documentation sets and establishing publication standards

Corporations constantly re-evaluate their publication procedures based on evolving product lines and the equipment devoted to information creation. Such evaluations require a structured approach to information assessment and the integration of that assessment into a corporations communication requirements. The authors develop such a structured approach by defining several key areas and demonstrating their application to the task of creating new communication venues. Issues discussed are the communication audit the personnel audit, the audience audit, the equipment audit, competitive analysis, standards development, supporting equipment, and quality control.<<ETX>>