Introduction: Connecting People With Technology [how-to (do A) Book Review]

Connecting People With Technology: Issues in Professional Communication

Edited by George Hayhoe and Helen Grady (2009)

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http://www.amazon.com/Connecting-People-Technology...

This collection of thematically connected articles is designed to provide an overview of challenges facing technical communicators (as of 2009) with suggested forward-thinking solutions. The articles were chosen by Hayhoe and Grady after the 2005 International Professional Communication Conference (IPCC), and the topics were chosen based on what seemed like the current and future-relevant cross-field "issues in professional communication." Most articles deliver a message central to the title, providing a "how to" guide for connecting people with technology in the ever-changing landscape of the technical age. Equally focused on the human as it is on the technical (or technological), a major strength of the book is its balance of article choice, ranging from the highly professionally specialized to the user-centered and pedestrian. Never far from sight is the clear relationship between user and product, and, as an anthology, the collection attempts to explain the place of the professional communicator in using language and design to connect people with technology (and implies that this is inherently good work).

Though the expanse of topics covered in this book might be considered its major strength, its diversity might also be considered a drawback as well. Designed to be a textbook collection of articles drawn from some of the field's brightest contributors (Steven Katz, Paul Dombrowski, etc), this anthology is highly appropriate as an entry-level reader for a professional communications course. However, it sacrifices depth for breadth, so anyone interested in more substantial topical insight should use this book as a jumping off point for exploring more specialized or groundbreaking concepts. Nevertheless, even years after its publication, the collection manages to resist much of the datability that defines many technical communication "how-tos," and the approachability of the language means even the usually more jargon-heavy topics are presented with a high degree of lay readability. While this might frustrate true specialists, this cohesion benefits the anthology's overall appeal to the beginning reader (it's true user).

Step 1: Making Technology Fit Its Users (Usability)

Chapter 1: Making Connections-->Make sure the mental model of the user, developers, and experts are in sync.

Chapter 2: Usability Standards-->Common core standards do not universally exist; however, it is important to know which guidelines most directly affect your industry.

Chapter 3: A Closer Look...

"Conducting an Automated Experiment Over the Internet to Assess Navigation Design for a Medical Web Site Containing Multipage Articles" by Elisabeth Cuddihy et. al

With the rise of self-care medical websites like WebMD, Mayo Clinic's Symptom Checker, etc. this article has only increased in relevance since its publication. Early symptom detection and health maintenance often rely on patient's proactively advocating for their own treatment: with many consumers relying on internet diagnosis and continuing education concerning their treatment, efficient and comprehensive delivery of medical information is vital.

Chapter 4: Manuals for the Elderly-->Text characteristics (syntax, iconicity) can help/hinder older users.

Step 2: Overcoming the Challenges of Languages and Cultures (Globalization)

Chapter 5: Communication as Key to Global Business-->English is not always a "universal language" if you want to sell your product to local buyers.

Chapter 6: The Hidden Cost of Cross-Cultural Documentation--> There isn't a translation for everything, and local customs can make or break a deal. It is impossible to remotely anticipate the local environment's wants and needs.

Chapter 7: How to Save Time and Money by Connecting the Writing/Update/Translation Process--> Integrating these three distinct processes creates a more cohesive product with fewer translation inefficiencies.

Chapter 8: Tech Comm and Cross-Cultural Miscommunication: User-Culture and the Outsourcing of Writing--> It may be cheaper to outsource technical writing to English-speaking countries (India, etc.)

Section Takeaway: English may be a the language of globalization, but it isn't necessarily the language of localization. The personal is highly valuable in any context.

Step 3: Informing Societies of Risks and Dangers (Health and Safety)

Chapter 10: Public Professional Communication in the Antiterror Age--> Assertions of risk in public policy discourse lead to reactive policy-making that might not be in the public's best interest.

Chapter 11: "Challenges to Effective Information and Communication Systems in Humanitarian Relief Organizations" by Christina Maiers, Margaret Reynolds, and Mark Haselkorn -->NGO's and Risk Management Agencies must juggle multiple priorities in times of crisis: often inefficiency seems the norm. When collaboration is needed the most, communication can sometimes be challenged by conflicting models of management in cooperating agencies, mismanagement of critical information, and decentralization of organizational structure. For a recent example of joint operations in crisis management, link to the file below (Operation Tomodachi/Fukushima).

Chapter 12: Using Role Sets to Promote Web Sites that Promote Safe Sex-->The anonymity of websites allows users to openly ask questions about sex, promoting safer sex practices.

Chapter 13: Physicians and Patients (Rapport Management)--> Politeness strategies allow physicians to deliver clear medical information to patients while also maintaining the reassuring/comforting persona that is most beneficial to their healing.


Step 4: Biotechnology: Reporting Its Potential and Its Problems

Chapter 14: Connecting Popular Culture and Science-->Does science drive the social or does the social drive science? The relationship is dynamic (and often fun).

Chapter 15: "Biotechnology and Miscommunication with the Public: Rhetorical Assumptions, Stylistic Acts, Ethical Implications" by Steven Katz

"I would suggest that the problem may not be an insufficient emphasis on transparency but too much emphasis on it. I would suggest that style is not separate from content, but a part of it. Biotechnology is anything but clear, especially to the public. Rather than transparency, what may be needed is opaque language that makes biotechnology "clear"--or perhaps I should say 'tangible, even palpable'" (pg. 174).

**Katz trademark concern with ethics and efficiency is prominently displayed in this article. By refusing to simply let "clarity" be an industry term without sufficient examination, Katz calls into questions ways in which professional communicators are responsible for providing meaning when "clarity" would do nothing to responsibly inform the public.

Chapter 16: The Need for Technical Communicators as Facilitators of Negotiation in Controversial Technology Transfer Cases-->With controversial companies like Monsanto possessing the power to drive policy and manipulate information in multiple domains, technical communicators are obligated to translate field-specific knowledge to protect and inform the public.

Step 5: Improving Communication (Corporate Environment)

Chapter 17: Technical Language: Learning from the Columbia and Challenger Reports

Re-Shaping the Field: Perhaps no two industrial disasters have had more impact on modern technical communication than the Columbia and Challenger disasters. Highlighting the need for clear and common technical communication throughout shared industrial space, the investigations surrounding these two tragedies have helped us learn several significant lessons that have impacted technical communication as a field. This article distills this information into a few basic concepts for all technical communicators to integrate into best practice:

  1. Data do not equal meaning.
  2. Language use shapes knowledge as much as empirical facts do.
  3. We are learning. Throughout technical fields, there is a maturing understanding of technical communication as having both empirical and social contexts.
  4. There has also been a maturing of the scope and dimensions of technical communication (including "unauthorized" discourse).
  5. Ethical responsibility is both an individual and social or organizational burden.

Chapter 18: Theoretical Foundations of Service Leadership (A New Paradigm)-->By empowering all employees with a leadership mindset, customer service, profitability, and unique intellectual capital increase due to corporate pride and improved organizational cohesion.

Chapter 19: Managing Collaboration (Adding Communication/Documentation Environment to a Product Development Cycle)-->During multidisciplinary collaboration, having a repeatable process in place for document /communication standardization eliminates redundancies and inefficiencies by allowing all members to test/modify usability.

Chapter 20: Virtual Office Communication Protocols (International Virtual Teams)-->Online is the office for many international co-workers: however, managing performance expectations and learning the new "common tongue" is the key to working effectively together in an ever-changing workspace.

Chapter 21: Knowledge Management/Aerospace Industry--> With two main branches (Civil Aviation and Military Aerospace), managing knowledge spaces in the aerospace industry means complying with a variety of inter-agency regulations, processes, authorities, competencies, information systems, and technological models across institutional boundaries. Additionally, organizational infrastructure varies from company to company, posing significant challenges to personnel-based knowledge management and transfer.

Chapter 22: Using Digital Notes: Three Cases to Make Tacit Knowledge Visible in Web-Based Surrounding-->Information about Standards for Substances; Sharing Knowledge on the Internet; Yellow Pages for Quality Documents

Step 6: Reflections and Projections

The challenge any technological publication faces is one of applicability and relevance. Problems presented today may be solved by tomorrow's upgrade, patch, or simply the general public's growing comfort with what was once unfamiliar technology. There is often much anxiety in the field of technical communication concerning the "future" of the field, and part of this anxiety stems from a concern over this rapid change. However, as this collection has explained in varietal ways, even as we interface with the technology, itself, we use the technology to interface with others. The professional communicator facilitates both of these goals, sometimes simultaneously.Though technical communication frequently handles rapidly evolving topics, many underlying themes--knowledge management, usability, risk rhetoric, international communication, etc.--represent ever-present concepts that the professional communicator is uniquely equipped to handle. Technology may change, but professional communicators have the unique skill, opportunity, and obligation to connect people with that technology in responsible and innovative ways.