Enterprise Content Management in Technical Communication

The goal of this project is to examine how the evolution of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is helping to shape the role of Technical Communicator. Technical communicators are often at the forefront of Enterprise Content Management, as their job involves the creation, utilization, and distribution of most corporate content. The research conducted for this project examines the impact that Enterprise Content Management, influenced by evolving technology, has had on the expectation associated with the skillset of a technical communicator. Additionally, how technical communicators can grow and expand their skillset to serve as leaders in an ever-evolving industry is explored

Simplified Single Source Xml Model: for Student-Centered Educational Content Management

This study investigates XML as a single source, recommending solutions and defining future needs for educators to manage student-centered educational content for diverse user preferences and multi-modal delivery. This research proposes a simplified XML single source model for educational course content management and XSL transformation of course material into multi-modal display/output that enables student-centered learning. The reviewed literature exposed four problem areas related to content management in which an XML single source might be a solution. Reviewed and synthesized literature related to XML into a cubed relationship with opposing the sides of the cube (content management/single source, corporate goals/educational goals and reuse/re-purpose) compared and contrasted. The result points to the need for a simplified XML model in order to realize the potential of educational goals for student-centered transformations (re-purposing content) and to future proof content management that is device independent and provides possible solutions to the problem areas in content management and technology management of course material

Global Technical Communication and Content Management: A Study of Multilingual Quality

The field of technical communication (TC) is facing a dilemma. Content management (CM) strategies and technologies that completely reshape writing and translation practices are adopted in an increasing number of TC work groups. One driving factor in CM adoption is the promise of improving quality of multilingual technical texts, all the while reducing time/cost of technical translation and localization. Yet, CM relies on automation and privileges consistency¯an approach that is problematic in global TC with its focus on adapting texts based on the characteristics of end-users. To better understand the interdisciplinary dilemma of multilingual quality in CM, during my dissertation project I conducted a twelve-month long qualitative case study of multilingual quality at a leading manufacturer of medical equipment who had adopted CM strategies and technologies to create technical texts in several languages three years before my study began. In my study, I drew upon an interdisciplinary theoretical base (genre ecology framework, activity theory, actor-network theory, and Skopos theory) to examine the construction of multilingual quality understandings and approaches by global TC stakeholders who are employees and contractors of the company and the role of CM in their practices. Examination of the extensive data I collected through observations, interviews, questionnaires, document collection/content analysis, and software exploration uncovered the staggering disconnects in understandings of and approaches to multilingual quality. These disconnects resulted from the lack communication between stakeholders and were promoted by the different relations to CM technology and the mediating work of the new genre, chunks of content. Inhibited knowledge sharing, risk of expertise invisibility and loss, and constrained new ideas about improving multilingual quality were some of the rhetorical, social, and political implications of these disconnects. As a result of my analysis, I sketched strategies for achieving contextualized multiple-stakeholder approaches to multilingual quality and outlined leadership possibilities for technical communicators in global information development. This analysis provides TC practitioners with strategies for improving multilingual quality in CM contexts; TC educators with ideas for expanding teaching approaches by combining digital and cross-cultural literacies; and TC researchers with opportunities for rhetorical action through critiquing, theorizing, and innovating CM

Analyzing The Effects Of Single-sourcing Methodologies On The Role Of The Technical Communicator

This thesis discusses the specific effects of single sourcing methodologies on the role of the technical communicator, his or her job responsibilities, qualifications, collaboration with coworkers, employee and employer expectations, and the effects on career progression. The methodologies discussed included all types of single sourcing methods for technical documentation (such as XML-based), advanced and non-advanced Content Management Systems (CMS), and Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems. Other topics explored are an overview of single sourcing for technical documentation, a comparison of the craftsman model to the current trend of single sourcing and structured content, specific effects on technical communicators such as role changes, the effects of incorporating XML into a technical communicator\u27s daily work environment, and the effects of other emerging technologies such as advanced CMS and DAM systems on technical communicators. General findings include that the practice of single sourcing, whether a positive or negative development, has continued and likely will continue to increase in technical communication groups within organizations. Single sourcing, especially for dynamic, customized content is also increasing because of the current marketplace, but works best via the use of a CMS and other systems used by large organizations. Single sourcing is also best implemented after extensive strategic planning and training of employees. Many technical communicators will have to accept new roles and positions, the direction of which is greatly impacted by the extent of their skills. Recommendations are made for additional research on the effects of single sourcing implementation on the technical communicator, and how to adapt to changes. Additional research is also needed on XML, DITA (Darwinian Information Typing Architecture), and DAM systems, all related specifically to technical communication

Influence of composing strategy on the comprehensibility of technical documents in English

Scope and Method of Study: This study investigated whether readers comprehend English single-sourced texts with cohesive devices differently from single-sourced texts without cohesive devices, and whether native and non-native English readers also comprehend the texts differently. Participants in the study were graduate students at Oklahoma State University and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, including 40 native readers and 19 East Asian readers. Test instruments were two authentic single-sourced English texts, adjusted to emphasize or minimize between-paragraph cohesive ties. Each participant read a cohesive version of one text and a non-cohesive version of the other text. For each text, participants answered global Likert-scale questions on the text's comprehensibility, used information from the text to solve small tasks, and identified the cohesive devices they had used to connect pieces of information. Likert-scale ratings and task scores were analyzed with a series of Kruskal-Wallis tests, followed by Mann Whitney U tests on significant results, corrected with the Bonferroni method. Cohesive devices named by participants were tallied and categorized.Findings and Conclusions: On one Likert-scale item, non-native readers reported relationships among ideas in one of the cohesive texts to be significantly clearer than did native readers. On one task item, two groups of cohesive readers completed the task with significantly greater accuracy than did the corresponding two groups of non-cohesive readers. Of the semantic cohesive devices named, participants named more lexical cues than any other type; of the structural devices named, participants named bolded heading and subheadings most frequently. Within-paragraph lexical repetition may reinforce the effectiveness of between-paragraph cohesive devices. For readers of English single-sourced technical documents, textual cohesiveness may contribute more to reader comprehension than do adjustments for different linguistic backgrounds