Browsing by Subject "technical communication"
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Item Approaches to Data Visualization in Technical Communication Research: A Systematic Literature Review(2023-05-05) Hofer-Pottala, ShannonThis paper is a systematic literature review that examines approaches to data visualization suggested in technical communication research. The review is composed of 23 peer-reviewed research articles published between 2018–2022 in the journals IEEE, JBTC, TC, and TCQ that are used to identify the best practices for designing understandable, effective, and efficient visuals. The research findings suggest that the best approaches to data visualizations in technical communication are clear and ethical data and designs, consideration of graph type and components, a focus on accessibility and interactivity, and the use of aesthetic design, as well as tools like Gantt charts, GIMP, Privacy Rating, and WAVE. The paper concludes with a list of 5 recommendations for technical communicators to create effective and engaging data visualizations.Item Authority in Digital Space: Exploring the Case of the Green Pea Galaxy(2020-07) Kays, TrentThe Green Pea Galaxy was discovered by a group of Zooniverse discussion forum users in 2007. This dissertation investigates the rhetorical moves and motives of the discussion forum users who discovered the galaxy and how those nonexpert users constructed authority and expertise within the discussion forum to develop criteria for assessing their own discovery outside traditionally trained experts.Item Developing digital literacies: Engaging technical communication at an urban community technology center(2017-05) Tofteland-Trampe, RachelThis study provides needed insights for technical communication scholars regarding underrepresented users and how they are engaging with technical communication texts and practices as they develop their digital literacies at an urban community technology center (CTC) in the Southeastern United States. By taking an ethnographic and community-based approach to data collection and utilizing grounded theory for analysis, I found that learners engage in all three dimensions of networked learning (e.g., learners connecting to other learners, tutors, and other available resources), tutors serve as local technical communication experts who help learners develop crucial cultural knowledge about using ICTs and how to physically operate them, and learners utilize multimodal resources as they work at computers. These findings highlight barriers impacting inexperienced users and illustrate that ICT tutorial materials often fail users who have little to no experience using ICTs. Technical communication scholars should work to make instructions more meaningful, and future research should investigate the rhetorical features of novice-focused instructions and engage in community-based scholarship to reach more underrepresented users in order to combat digital divides.Item Essential Strategies, Methods, Knowledge, and Resources for Professional Development for Technical Communicators(2020) Jarrett, James M.Professional development is a challenge for practitioners of all levels no matter the discipline, and professional development within technical communication presents a formidable challenge which has been understudied. The goal of this research has been to explore how technical communicators may accomplish professional development when entering an unfamiliar field or industry and to provide them with a framework with which to approach professional development. This research was accomplished through a qualitative mixed-method approach which combined autoethnography of my own experience entering a new technical communication niche with interviews of practicing technical communicators on what they consider to be essential strategies, methods, knowledge, and resources for professional development in their current role and past experience. Key insights generated include recommendations on how to accomplish professional development by focusing efforts in six key categories to quickly orient oneself in a discipline and to improve the continuous professional development process.Item Ethos as Dwelling: The Construction of Corporate Ethos in an IPO(2016-08) LI, SHUWENThis qualitative case study investigates how trust was operationalized in the Chinese e-commerce company, Alibaba, in its U.S. Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2014. Rhetorically speaking, gaining trust is a result of a successful construction of ethos. Tracing the classical and contemporary conceptualizations of ethos, I drew a conclusion supporting ethos as dwelling and proposed to investigate this conceptualization in new contexts, such as IPOs. Using Robert Stake’s (1994) case-study methodology, I analyzed two artifacts in the Alibaba IPO: (1) the online tertiary audience reactions, which include English and Chinese online business news media reactions and high status actors; (2) Alibaba’s IPO prospectus, constituting a total of eight versions. “Thick description” and rhetorical interpretations were applied to data analysis. In addition to the main analytical tool, rhetorical ethos, I used theories from regional rhetorics, visual rhetorics, and technical communication to facilitate my data analysis. Findings from the analysis of the online tertiary audience reactions indicate how ecologies, consisted of material experiences and public feelings influence the construction of ethos. Outcomes from examining the IPO prospectus reveal the dialectic relationship between discourse and materiality in ethos construction. Results from the two artifacts overlap in the importance of materiality and the role of emotion in ethos construction. Though this study aims for naturalistic generalization, results can still contribute to refining existing theories of ethos, especially in a cross-cultural context and in professional communication.Item For the Love of Technology: How Aesthetics Define Emotions in a Digital Education Setting(2021) Brower, AutumnEducators often admit that they are aware that emotion plays a significant role in students’ educational success, yet most of the scientific literature measures cognition in education to the exclusion of emotion. This study is intended to be a proof of concept design for future research. Its goal is to assess how an individual’s aesthetic value of a product might be a way to gauge emotion in educational settings. Three faculty members at the University of Minnesota were interviewed about their viewpoints pertaining to the product design of a static Canvas page and asked to evaluate its design based on its visceral, behavioral, and reflective beauty. Page orientation and font were used to represent product design. Results of the interviews showed that readability was the most frequently mentioned reason people are drawn to certain aesthetic features of a product’s design in digital education, followed by alignment, accessibility, mobile devices, tradition, and font personalities. Additionally, this paper evaluates the participants’ valence response; their responses to the design’s functionality; and their thoughts on meaningfulness as they relate to Norman’s (2007) three aesthetic levels of product design. At the end of the paper, suggestions for how we might use this data to increase productivity in our classes and enhance educational technology are addressed. Future directions for how these results might apply to cognition, emotion, and computation are also discussed.Item A Guidebook for Technical Communicators in Agile Scrum Environments(2020) Krstic, DanijelaResearch problem: The lack of understanding and industry consensus on the role of technical communicators in the agile scrum environment. In this study, I completed a literature review of the agile scrum framework and a technical writer’s current challenges working within it. I conducted interviews with 10 employees at Sovos, a computer software company, and coded their responses to determine how technical writers currently work within agile scrum, what is working well, and what isn’t. I used the findings of this study to develop a guidebook for technical communicators working in agile scrum environments. It can be found in the Appendix of this paper.Item How Should Technical Communication Students Best Prepare for Careers in Medical Device Companies?(2014-05-01) Sigstad, HeatherThe Twin Cities is a hotspot for the medical device industry, which has a high demand for technical communicators, so many local technical communication students become interested in finding a career in this field. This study asks the question “how should technical communication students best prepare for careers in medical device companies?” To investigate it, five technical communicators from four medical device companies in the Twin Cities were interviewed about technical communication in the field, possible challenges to new communicators, important skills for this career, and their recommendations for new technical communicators to prepare for a career in this field. Key focus areas (KFAs) for students were identified from the interview results and compared to curricula at the University of Minnesota (UMN). Strengths and gaps were identified between the two, and recommendations on how students should fill those gaps were provided. The goal is to make technical communication students better candidates for positions at medical device companies and increase their success.Item Managing Technical Content: Investigating the Value and Impact of a Content Management System (CMS)(2021) De la Victoria, MirandaAs the field of technical communication evolves and expands into various industries, the content and how it is created and managed evolves, too. The maintenance of content, specifically technical content in this case, is where content management systems (CMS) come into play. Companies often decide what kind of CMS they want to implement based on their needs. Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is the CMS implemented by a global company. In this report, I analyzed some of the existing literature on CMS implementation and then interviewed four practitioners at the global company, who have some experience in the technical content industry, though not all identify as a technical communicator, and have been exposed to a content management system. My analysis shows that there are many reasons to implement a CMS, including reuse, translation, version control, and automation of document publishing, to name a few. Technical communicators are often introduced to CMS through their own research for content solutions or by another who is conducting that research. Through communication, collaboration, and involvement, others may be convinced of a CMS’s value. While there are many challenges with implementation, it is a matter of how they are handled that will determine whether or not an implementation is successful.Item NEXT GENERATION EDUCATION: Implications For Technical Communicators(2018) Canon, SarahThe revolution has arrived. Technology is advancing, the classroom is evolving, and the role of the technical communicator is shifting. With all of these changes, the next generation has great potential for their educational experience. How might technical communicators play a role in developing the future of our society through these next generation students? This study documents the shift in the educational paradigm due to technological advancements, analyses of the future of learning technologies, and examines methods of teaching and learning with specific attention to the role of the technical communicator. The objective is to understand how the role of the technical communicator has and will change, add value to learning technologies, and mediate gaps in terms of developing and implementing learning technologies. As a whole, the project provides insight into the overlap of emerging technologies, classroom education, and technical communication.Item Oral Health: Bridging Somali Traditions and Western Practice - Recommendations for Technical Communicators(2016-04) Moe, KevinLanguage and cultural barriers often prevent immigrants from assimilating successfully in their new home. This is especially true of Somali immigrants in terms of their oral health needs. Oral health care is traditionally important to Somalis, yet they report poor oral health now that they are in Minnesota. To date, there has been a lack of effective communication between Somali immigrants and Western oral health practitioners. This paper attempts to show how technical communication strategies can effectively bridge this gap. To highlight the problem, this paper synthesizes published research on immigrant barriers to health care, traditional Somali oral health care beliefs, interviews with Somali immigrants, and interviews with dentists who work with immigrant populations. Also, Western attempts to craft immigrant-appropriate healthcare materials are examined. The author then applies technical communication best practices to offer recommendations on how to improve communications between Western oral health practitioners and their Somali immigrant patients. A communication program for each group is provided, along with avenues for future research.Item The Role of Technical Communicators in Open-Source Software: A Systematic Review(2021) Hull, Mary FrancesTo survive, Free/Open-Source Software (FOSS) projects need to attract and retain new contributors. Research has studied the many barriers that newcomers face when trying to contribute to FOSS projects. These barriers can cause newcomers to give up on contributing to FOSS projects. Many of the hurdles that newcomers face can be reduced or eliminated by skills that technical writers possess. In this paper, I aim to 1) present the results of a systematic literature review to identify the barriers that newcomers face, 2) identify roles that technical writers can take to help alleviate those barriers, and 3) identify ways that contributing to FOSS as part of the technical communication curriculum would be beneficial to students.Item The Role of the Technical Communicator in the Corporate eLearning Industry(2020-05-05) Arnquist, Marissa, DTechnical communicators bring myriad skills to professional roles, including textual and visual content creation, content organization, content strategy, technology proficiency, and user analysis. These skills are well-matched for roles in elearning, strategizing and creating instructional content for online consumption. Through literature review, informational interviews, and job posts analysis, the correlation between a technical communicator’s skills and the skills needed to be successful in elearning becomes clear. This research elucidates the opportunities for technical communicators in the corporate elearning industry and offers an introductory guide into exploring a career in the industry.Item A Technical Communicator’s Role in the Future of Emerging Technologies(2020) Blissenbach, RachelThis research explores the roles, responsibilities, and duties of a technical communicator across varying fields involved with emerging technologies. The purpose of this study was to become more informed about how a technical communicator’s career will change and evolve over the next few years. To find this out, I interviewed 10 people who currently serve as either a technical communicator, someone who works with emerging technologies, or both. Interviews lasted anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes and were conducted in person, over the phone, or through video conferencing software. Those interviewed included two technical writers at a medical device company, one freelancer, one 3D printing engineer, one augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) specialist, one university professor, two technical writers at software companies, one technical writer from a fitness equipment company, and one physician with a background in medical devices and engineering. Interviewees answered a series of 15 questions regarding technical communication, emerging technology, current and past job duties, software programs, and smart devices. Answers were collected and results were examined to provide an educated guess as to what the career of a technical communicator using emerging technologies like smart devices, 3D printers, or AR/VR will look like in the near future.Item Understanding User Experience: An Essential Component within Academic Support Resources at the University of Minnesota(2020) Yoong, ChristinaUser experience (UX) has become increasingly important for organizations due to the growing need to design and maintain digital products for different audiences. This study focuses on user experience perspectives within Academic Support Resources (ASR), a service department that supports students, faculty, and staff at the University of Minnesota. Objectives for this study were to investigate user experience perspectives and practices within ASR, explore where UX fits within ASR’s human experience design ecosystem, and provide recommendations for improving UX maturity within the department. A survey was sent to all ASR staff members and several follow-up interviews were conducted with business analysts in ASR-IT. Major findings include that UX is very important to ASR's mission to make a positive difference in students' lives, and everyone in ASR is responsible for UX at some level. A number of recommendations are provided to increase UX maturity within ASR, including to build, document, and share UX knowledge and have leadership prioritize UX in ASR's work and processes. In the end, UX is an essential component of ASR and the department's human experience design ecosystem.