Adapting to Conflict: Rhetorical Refusals of Scientific Publication Norms

In the early decades of the 21st century, the central role of technical writing to organizational communication during crisis and conflict events is becoming increasingly apparent. Meanwhile, the documentation involved when currently publishing studies of such communication suggests a negotiation site for expectations and genre conventions within scientific discourse

Technical Translation as a Significant Communicational Bridge

Technical translation is a type of specialized translation involving the translation of documents produced by technical writers (owner's manuals, user guides, etc.), or more specifically, texts which relate to technological subject areas or texts which deal with the practical application of scientific and technological information. While the presence of specialized terminology is a feature of technical texts, specialized terminology alone is not sufficient for classifying a text as "technical" since numerous disciplines and subjects which are not "technical" possess what can be regarded as specialized terminology. Technical translation covers the translation of many kinds of specialized texts and requires a high level of subject knowledge and mastery of the relevant terminology and writing conventions. As technology creates easier and faster means of communication and the world moves toward becoming a global community, the need to communicate with people from multiple language backgrounds also grows

Semiotische Effizienz interfachlicher Sprache-Bild-Textsorten

Communicative efficiency can be measured with conventions. Besides linguistic means, pictures and diagrams are also an expression of such conventions. In the practice of technical editing, this refers to multimodal text types with technical language elements, photographs, technical drawings, various types of diagrams, etc. Alexander Holste uses the example of the text type specification sheet to show how an inter-disciplinary team of engineers, lawyers, business economists, etc. negotiates these conventions. The different, technically justified ideas of the text type conventions, especially with regard to the choice of multimodal means of expression, become clearly apparent. Requirement specifications are created in the context of the tendering of public contracts by public authorities. Since such contracts represent an important field of work for the companies involved, the efficient design of the specifications is highly relevant from a business management point of view. Alexander Holste, Dr. phil., studied German as well as business administration in Essen and Turin and headed the technical editorial department of a public transport company before he started teaching professional and scientific writing at the University of Duisburg-Essen in 2009, especially for engineering scientists. His research interests lie in the fields of semiotics, text linguistics, technical communication and writing didactics

Technical guidance on monitoring for the Marine Stategy Framework Directive

The Marine Directors of the European Union (EU), Acceding Countries, Candidate Countries and EFTA Countries have jointly developed a common strategy for supporting the implementation of the Directive 2008/56/EC, “the Marine Strategy Framework Directive” (MSFD). The main aim of this strategy is to allow a coherent and harmonious implementation of the Directive. Focus is on methodological questions related to a common understanding of the technical and scientific implications of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. In particular, one of the objectives of the strategy is the development of non-legally binding and practical documents, such as this technical guidance on monitoring for the MSFD. These documents are targeted to those experts who are directly or indirectly implementing the MSFD in the marine regions. The document has been prepared by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) with the contribution of experts from Member States, Regional Seas Conventions and ICES and following consultation of the Working Group on Good Environmental Status.JRC.H.1-Water Resource

Does the U.S. Government Think That International Law Is Important?

State Department and other U.S. officials involved in consular activities, technical negotiations, and economic programs represent the majority of the American civilian, non-intelligence foreign policy establishment. Many would be puzzled by the question posed in this essay. International agreements, understandings, and conventions represent the daily grist and foundation of their work. These agreements, such as those on the rights of American citizens abroad, international trade, criminal extradition, and scientific cooperation, embody the corpus of customary law and mutually agreed-upon arrangements through which affairs among nations are ordinarily conducted. The behavior regulated by these arrangements actually represents the heart of day-to-day international activity below the high politics that attracts media attention

Semiotische Effizienz interfachlicher Sprache-Bild-Textsorten

Communicative efficiency can be measured with conventions. Besides linguistic means, pictures and diagrams are also an expression of such conventions. In the practice of technical editing, this refers to multimodal text types with technical language elements, photographs, technical drawings, various types of diagrams, etc. Alexander Holste uses the example of the text type specification sheet to show how an inter-disciplinary team of engineers, lawyers, business economists, etc. negotiates these conventions. The different, technically justified ideas of the text type conventions, especially with regard to the choice of multimodal means of expression, become clearly apparent. Requirement specifications are created in the context of the tendering of public contracts by public authorities. Since such contracts represent an important field of work for the companies involved, the efficient design of the specifications is highly relevant from a business management point of view. Alexander Holste, Dr. phil., studied German as well as business administration in Essen and Turin and headed the technical editorial department of a public transport company before he started teaching professional and scientific writing at the University of Duisburg-Essen in 2009, especially for engineering scientists. His research interests lie in the fields of semiotics, text linguistics, technical communication and writing didactics

Geo-cultural influences and critical factors in inter-firm collaboration

Inter-firm collaboration and other forms of inter-organisational activity are increasingly the means by which technological innovation occurs. This paper draws on evidence from two studies of the same set of firms to examine the conduct of collaborations over time across different contexts. The purpose is to examine the critical factors associated with successful collaboration and explore the importance of the geo-cultural context in understanding the conduct of inter-firm collaboration. The conceptual framework draws on two main sources: - Storper’s concept of ‘conventions’ of identity and participation and Lorenz’s classification of different types of knowledge. These are used to indicate the kinds and sources of adjustments required for successful collaboration