Final Master\u27s Portfolio

This is the final master\u27s portfolio for a Master\u27s in English with an emphasis on professional writing and rhetoric

Restructuring information in technical documentation when migrating to XML-based documentation system : a case study for Marioff Corporation Oy

Tämä tutkielma käsittelee tiedon uudelleenjärjestämistä teknisessä dokumentaatiossa siirryttäessä XML-pohjaiseen dokumentointiympäristöön. Teknisen viestinnän alalla XML-pohjaiset dokumentointijärjestelmät ovat yleistyneet 2000-luvun alusta lähtien ja monet yritykset ovat edelleen siirtymässä uuteen järjestelmään. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää, miten tietoa kannattaa analysoida ja järjestää uudelleen siirryttäessä uuteen dokumentointijärjestelmään. Teoreettisen viitekehyksen ensimmäinen osio koostuu informaatioarkkitehtuurin ja informaation suunnittelun välisen suhteen ja niiden eri piirteiden käsittelystä. Toinen osio käsittelee modulaarista dokumentaatiota ja siihen liittyviä periaatteita, kuten yksilähteistämistä ja DITA XML -kieltä teknisen viestinnän kontekstissa. Tutkimus on Marioff Corporation Oy:lle tehty tapaustutkimus. Tutkimuksen metodina käytetään teoriaohjaavaa laadullista sisällönanalyysiä, jota ohjaa sisällön uudelleenkäytön analyysin malli. Uudelleenkäytön analyysin mallia käytetään, jotta analyysilla pystytään vastaamaan juuri tiedon uudelleenjärjestämistä koskevaan tutkimuskysymykseen. Tutkimuksen aineistona toimii Marioff Corporation Oy:n tekninen dokumentaatio, joka koostuu palonsammutusjärjestelmän osana toimivan pumppuyksikön käyttöohjeesta ja teknisistä datalehdistä. Tutkimuksen hypoteesi on, ettei Marioff Corporation Oy:n dokumenteista löydy mittavasti uudelleenkäytettävää sisältöä. Tutkimuksen johtopäätös on, että uuteen dokumentointijärjestelmään siirrettävä materiaali on analysoitava huolellisesti yrityksen kontekstissa. Analyysin tulee tehdä henkilö, joka tuntee yrityksen tuotteet ja osaa täten arvioida, miten sisältö kannattaa jakaa moduuleiksi. Huolellisella analyysillä voidaan maksimoida sisällön uudelleenkäyttö. Tutkimuksessa esitetty hypoteesi ei toteudu vaan dokumenteista löytyy odotettua enemmän uudelleenkäytettävää sisältöä. Tutkimuksessa selviää myös, että sisältöä pitää analysoida yrityksen sisällönhallintajärjestelmän asettamien rajoitusten puitteissa. Erityisesti sisällön uudelleenkäytön strategia pitää suunnitella sisällönhallintajärjestelmän mukaisesti. Tämä tutkimus tukee aiemmissa modulaarista dokumentaatiota käsittelevissä teoksissa esiintyvää ajatusta, että yksityiskohtaisia ohjeistuksia sisällön uudelleenjärjestämiseen ei voi antaa, koska sisällön jakaminen on tapauskohtaista eli riippuu jaettavasta sisällöstä, jota siirretään modulaariseen dokumentointiympäristöön. Tämän tutkimuksen analyysin pohjalta nostetaan kuitenkin esiin asioita, jotka kannattaa ottaa huomioon uuteen dokumentointiympäristöön siirryttäessä. Tutkimuksen jatkotutkimusaiheena esitetään palautteenkeruuprosessin muuttuminen XML-pohjaisessa dokumentointiympäristössä

Possible Impacts of the New Popularity of e-Books on Higher Education

e-Books is a generic term that refers to a device for reading content—including books—in electronic formats as well as the material that users read on those devices (which include books, journals, magazines, and newspapers). The 2010 Horizon Report listed e-books as one of the technologies most likely to affect higher education in the next two to three years On the one hand, publishers of educational information have been providing texts in formats other than print for several decades On the other hand, until 2008, the impact of electronic publication was not felt extensively in the textbook publishing industry. e-Book readers and electronic books have started to emerge in the mainstream, and the impact of the financial crisis of 2008-2009 on school budgets might play a significant role in the emergence of ebooks as the dominant means of distributing books. Anticipated impacts of e-books include (1) Books will not die. Instead, experts predict trends similar to those that arose with the rise of digital music. (2) When buying texts online, customers might purchase micro-content such as individual chapters of books and articles from periodicals, and create customized reading materials. (3) The reading experience will change, partly because of the need to adjust to the format of the screen and partly to take advantage of the unique and beneficial features of the e-book devices. (4) Book designs will adjust to the capabilities of e-book readers, eventually providing reading experiences that integrate multimedia, linking, and customization. (5) Electronic publishing will affect scholarship, with material increasingly published in an online format, and journals exploring alternate peer review models and publication schedules that provide for more efficiency. e-Books will impact teaching through pressure for their adoption by students and by requiring instructors to address skills related to using and communicating through e-books in their courses. e-Books will impact theory and research by providing oppportunities to study reading patterns online as well as changing adoption

Aesop’s Trumpeter, Aristotle’s Orator, and the Technical Communicator

This paper discusses the orator and the audience\u27s roles in both Aristotle\u27s rhetoric and contemporary rhetoric. Moreover, it argues that technical communicators should revive Aristotle\u27s rhetoric because it allows them to take ownership of their work

Final MA Portfolio

This portfolio is a compilation of graduate research and writing completed as the capstone project for the Master of Arts in English degree with a specialization in professional writing and rhetoric. The first selection is a research paper that reviews how embellishments in graphical representations and infographics affect viewer perception. The second research paper is a content analysis that explores the extent to which visual metaphors are used in ISO public information graphical symbols. The third research paper explores how to create effective video software tutorials and reorganizes existing guidelines into eighteen distinct guidelines in three major categories: accessibility, cognitive design, and affective design. The final selection is a teaching guide geared toward an introductory undergraduate technical writing course

Integrating Key Elements In An E-learning Curriculum For An Optimum Educational And Interactive User Experience

This study determines the particular components that are considered the best practices to use when implementing an e-Learning curriculum. Technical communicators and instructional designers have numerous development options to choose from. However, practices that work in academe do not always integrate well in a corporate setting, and what works for one corporation may not work for another. There is no singular methodology for developers to apply that enables e-Learning to fit every organization\u27s needs. Research shows that to ensure a successful online learning implementation, a sound project management team must be in place at the beginning of the project planning. This team must be prepared to collaborate with managers and users across an organization and carefully incorporate their suggestions into the curriculum design. Additionally, this team must be experienced not only in making sure that the project is launched on time and within the defined budget, but also in asking pertinent questions about the users, content structure, and design. Implementing an e-Learning site involves more than putting a Web page online for users to view. Developers must know about adult learning styles, must know how to incorporate interactive activities (like games and simulations), and must know how to write content so that it is engaging yet understandable

Providing Appropriate Information: an Analysis of Procedures in Computer User Documentation

I developed this study in an effort to analyze some of the more obvious discrepancies I have observed between the literature and practice in the field of technical communication. As a practitioner and author of computer software documentation similar to the samples studied in this thesis, 1 believe that much research in technical communication remains transfixed by old paradigms of documentation. I hope this thesis may, in some small way, provoke a renewed analysis of computer documentation and a fresh look at some of the existing assumptions and standards of computer documentation

The Sacral Museum: An Analysis and Application of Design Within Museum Architecture

This research focuses on the similarities between museum architecture and architecture found in religious, spiritual, and sacred structures around the world. Personal experience and academic research will be used to help convey and understand the effects of architecture on its occupants. This thesis examines how architectural design can facilitate a profound internal journey through learning, contemplation, and connection. Through analysis of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, it is shown that traditional and contemporary architectural elements can achieve these effects by creating a sacred, ritualistic experience, thereby enriching the cultural, educational, and emotional value of the museum visit

Swimsmart: An Interactive and instructional multimedia application

The thesis project, SwimSmart, created by Rebecca Natalie Berent, is an instructional CD-ROM designed for coaches and intermediate to advanced swimmers seeking to improve upon their swimming skills. It is designed for use on both a projector for group training and on a personal computer as an individual teaching aid, and it runs by inserting it into a computer. The CD includes videos depicting proper swimming technique and is organized within a graphical interface broken down by stroke technique, coach advice, and tips, exercises, and downloadable practice routines. There are two additional sections devoted to credits and an explanation of the application, and a library where the user can watch all videos found throughout SwimSmart in one place. The program is interactive, meaning the user uses the mouse to click through and view various types of content related to swimming. Teachers and professors typically use some form of multimedia to assist in instructing students in the classroom. The intent of SwimSmart is to improve upon a physical activity using the same principles behind the instructional multimedia used in classrooms. The physical skill is depicted by video that captures the actual movements of a swimmer, along with demonstrations of exercises, practices, and drills. These demonstrations are explained in terms of the muscles they affect as well as how they will improve personal swimming skills, times, and strokes. There are also sections devoted to common mistakes swimmers tend to make and how to correct them. For the creation, design, and implementation of SwimSmart, videos were shot, edited, and made into short, stand-alone clips, which were then combined and organized into a structured format within the SwimSmart application. Each clip is devoted to an area of swimming and is set up like a short documentary of the particular topic or subject. Video content includes coaches giving advice and explanations of strokes, swimmers in the pool demonstrating various aspects of swimming, and dry-land training. The designer shot and edited video of coaches and swimmers and created videos to teach the principles of swimming and the various strokes and to present drills, exercises, and other content. All the videos were combined into a dynamically generated video player embedded within a graphical interface using ActionScript and XML code and Adobe Flash. Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, Adobe SoundBooth, Adobe Premiere, and Adobe InDesign were all used to create elements for the application, including its brand, video and user-interfaces, buttons, photos, imagery, icons, and more. Positive usability testing showed that the application was easy to use and understand, well organized and designed, and educational. Additional materials that accompany the CD are CD labels, a user guide, and posters marketing the product

Case Studies of Implementing Writing Courses Online in Higher Education

Reports of online writing courses at universities provide isolated experiences rather than multiple-case comparisons. This study uses activity theory to explore the nature of successful developments of four online writing courses in higher education. Universities desire online learning to meet strategic and accessibility needs. Faculty may lack skills and resources but administrators can provide supportive environments. Online learning risks higher dropouts and simplistic pedagogies, but effective design encourages productive interactions and ongoing course improvements. Six reported cases described online writing courses that either preserved classroom writing pedagogies, or addressed systemic dysfunctions in classroom courses. This qualitative study uses a convenience sample of four case studies recruited from online university courses in technical or professional writing in the United States and Canada. Information was collected through interviews with instructors and available personnel, course walkthroughs and artifacts. Cases were analyzed using activity theory. Cases consisted of undergraduate and graduate courses in technical or educational writing, legislative drafting, and proposal writing. The courses were ongoing activity systems constrained by professor experience and source materials, but subject to structural tensions that resulted in expanded motivations for access, achievability, and community integration. Stakeholders can recognize the impact on design from the reason the course was requested, professor independence, existing course materials, and ongoing measurement. The small sample was suitable for generating theory but not statistical generalization. Future research can explore courses in other countries and languages, writing disciplines, and institutions