Wikis in the Classroom: An Agenda for Studying Collaborative Writing in Information Systems Research

This paper proposes a research agenda for a relatively new area of research in information systems: wikis in collaborative writing. We introduce wikis and the concept of collaborative writing using four different educational cases of wiki-usage for collaborative writing in the classroom setting. Eight research questions are suggested related to this area of research. We propose that Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) is a useful theoretical framework to study these questions. The paper suggests the importance of this new area of research through four case studies and identifying research questions that need to be addressed using the AST framework and suggesting implications for educational practice

Peer Review in the Contemporary Corporation

My dissertation explores the history, pedagogy, and practice of peer review in academia and in the workplace, so that I could suggest strategies for improving peer review in the contemporary corporation. Several scholars have studied collaborative writing—of which peer review is just one type—but few have specifically and thoroughly treated the subject of peer review. I surveyed the technical writers in my organization as well as other local writers about their thoughts on peer review. For improving peer review in the workplace, two predominant themes emerged: improve the corporate culture and assign a manager to the process. Therefore, I explore how to create a sense of community in the organization, and I propose a leader of the peer review process—the technical editor. My final chapter discusses the pedagogical implications of my study, and includes suggestions for preparing technical communication students (i.e., technicaleditors) for such a leadership role in the workplace

Assignment sequencing in professional communication courses: the search for an innovative pedagogy

Kotler\u27s cry for practical dialogue, rather than an exchange of complicated theories, among business communication professors is a rare one. It is not that professors in the discipline don\u27t crave such a thing; rather their peer juries don\u27t believe it to be a respectable quest, one weighted with scholarly worth.· Seldom do articles offering such practical advice appear in prestigious academic journals. If pedagogical practicality is included in these journals, the brief blurb (usually one paragraph) is usually confined to the last paragraph of the article, offering little chance for explanation of how to implement the theory discussed in the bulk of the article. Journals which do include pedagogical articles often consider the information less valuable to scholars than true theoretical articles, demonstrated by restricting the pedagogical articles to columns such as The Scholar Who Helps Me Teach Better . or My Favorite Assignment (The Bulletin for the Association of Business Communication)

Survey of Aviation Technical Manuals, Phase 2 Report: User Evaluation of Maintenance Documents

This report contains the results from Phase 2 of a 3-phase research effort. Phase 1 (Human Factors Survey of Aviation Technical Manuals Phase 1 Report: Manual Development Procedures) of this research effort surveyed the procedures used by five manufacturers to develop maintenance documentation. Several potential human factors issues were identified in the development processes employed by these manufacturers. They included the reactive rather than proactive use of user evaluations, the limited use of user input and procedure validation, no systematic attempts to track error, and the lack of standards for measuring document quality. In Phase 2, a written survey was used to solicit information about user perception of errors in current manuals, manual usage rates, and general manual quality. On-site interviews of technicians were also conducted to gather feedback about the types of problems encountered with manuals, the associated impact, and suggestions for improving manuals. Feedback was obtained from technicians responsible for maintenance on a wide variety of Federal Aviation Regulations, Part 25 aircraft. Survey results revealed that, although user evaluations of the accuracy and quality of technical manuals are generally good, they rate manuals as having poor usability. Comparing the results of Phase 1 to the Phase 2 results supports the need for a higher level of user involvement during the document development process

Environmental communication : theory and practice

The present study examines the relationship between environmental communication theory and practice. The focus of the case study is to examine the formal elements of an environmental document--the Industrial Pollution Prevention Planning guidelines published by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)--and the process by which this document was created. This study of product and process allows a methodology to be developed by which the complexities of environmental communication may be better understood

Understanding the National Science Foundation CAREER Award Proposal Genre: A Rhetorical, Ethnographic, and System Perspective

With tightening university budgets, never before has the activity level of research grant proposal writing been more intense. With increased proposal numbers, including for the National Science Foundation\u27s (NSF) prestigious CAREER award, has also come increased competition and decreased funding rates. This dissertation has searched for successful and unsuccessful characteristics from funded and unfunded CAREER proposals. The research focused on a study of two key subjects: 1) a corpus of 20 texts that included 12 funded proposals and 8 unfunded proposals from across NSF programs, and 2) an ethnographic analysis comprised from interviews with 14 NSF program officers (PO) from varying programs. Coding elements with the texts to uncover topical chains of content, rhetorical, and document design strategies revealed sound rhetorical moves and rhetorical mistakes. The study also illustrated evidence of adherence to or neglect of NSF-mandated writing/formatting conventions as connected to the likelihood of receiving funding. Moreover, the study revealed conventions that have developed for the genre that are not prescribed by NSF but that, nevertheless, seem to be expected. Through genre field analysis, the study\u27s interviews with program officers (PO) revealed a system of genre-agents and player-agents that interact together in a highly rhetorical and social system. This system, comprised of locales in which a multitude of play scenarios can be enacted to exert influence, operates within fairly exact rules of play. Such rules may be published by NSF or simply be understood, yet principal investigators (PI) are held accountable for them regardless. The ethnography created from interviews with POs revealed multiple genre field elements (e.g., genre- and player-agents, transformative locales, play scenarios, penalty conditions) as well as common mistakes and best practices. A complete mapping of the CAREER award proposal preparation, submission, and review process resulted from the study, which mapping has offered insightful strategies to expand PI (and other agents\u27) influence on the funding process. The dissertation concluded by offering investigators a step-by-step process to identify and map the elements of the proposal genre field in which they operate

Special Libraries, April 1945

Volume 36, Issue 4https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1945/1003/thumbnail.jp

The role of course development and design in an itinerant schooling program: the perceptions of staff members of the School of Distance Education in Brisbane, Queensland

This paper examines the perceptions of teachers associated with the Brisbane School of Distance Education (Queensland, Australia), concerning their role in the establishment and implementation of a primary education program for children of the Showmen's Guild of Australasia. Interviews with five itinerant teachers revealed that their responsibilities include assessing correspondence papers from students and maintaining telephone contact with students, home tutors, and parents, as well as working in selected towns on a short-term basis to teach 'face-to-face' lessons to itinerant students. Each teacher worked with between 15 and 20 children, usually in family groups across grade levels. Teachers expressed concerns about the show children's lifestyle and how this has affected their educational and social development. However, all teachers felt that the distance education program had improved the children's educational opportunities and adequately addressed their educational needs. Disadvantages of the children's itinerant lifestyle that the program was unable to address were lack of routine, lack of continuity, dependence on the support of the home tutor, role conflicts of local teachers, and insufficient program funding. Implications for other itinerant education projects include recognizing the importance of teacher attitudes when implementing an educational program for a marginalized group. Contains 20 references. (LP