Writing Toward Readers\u27 Better Health: A Case Study Examining the Development of Online Health Information

Each year, more people search the Internet for health information. Through a case study conducted at a prominent health information company, I will show that technical communicators are well suited to contribute to the development of online health information. Like other technical communicators, online health information developers must make rhetorical choices based on audience needs, function within specific social contexts, and work through challenges of writing, editing, and project management

Extensible Markup Languages And Traditional Abstracting And Indexing Strategies

Object-oriented coding languages make it possible to more accurately label and search for content embedded in electronic texts. This paper illustrates how such object-oriented languages can effectively deploy the indexing techniques and systems traditionally used by information professionals

Tacit Knowledge, Knowledge Management, And Active User Participation In Website Navigation

The concepts of tacit knowledge, knowledge management, and the active user participation in website navigation are discussed. If tacit knowledge is not calculated for in the design of a website, it puts the people navigating the site in the position of passive observers. While the information being provided should be content-rich and specific, there might also be further mention of redundancy of information, imaginative link designations, or connectivity afforded by links that would allow for some sense of creative chaos and interaction

Extended Abstract: Technical Communication, Correlation And Causation, And The Explication Of Big Data

Advancements in computational technologies and increased access to large bodies of data have allowed for many pronouncements on the value of big data, especially in the popular press. Examining the culture of big data shows that the past convention where investigators demonstrate the cause and effect rationales in a study has given way to the idea that mere correlations between findings, however unlikely, have value, thus keeping us from more thoughtful and accurate conclusions when examining datasets. Because of this, technical communicators need to take up the challenge of interpretation as they are uniquely situated to better explicate these correlations found in many of today\u27s studies and articles on big data

Disease Classification And The Organization Of Large-Scale Websites

Disease classification and the organization of the large-scale websites is studied. A classification strategy identifies the genres of organization communication indicating the organizing practices of the individuals who uses them. Websites attempts to organize heterogeneous objects and links to other websites. The genre systems employed in large-scale website construction are divided into alphabetical, chronological and geographical methods. These methods are known as exact classification schemes and are deployed for known-item searching

Tracking Disease Using Small World Network Theory And Matrix And Node-Link Graphics

When illustrated in textual or graphical form, the intricacies of the connections between weak and strong ties between such entities as endangered species in an ecosystem or people who might be carrying an infectious disease have proven difficult to convey. Technical communicators, both students and practitioners, can more ably explain technical concepts by 1) understanding the dynamics of small world network theory, and 2) visually revealing the insights they afford by combining both simple matrix and node-link representations that are readable and accurate. Accordingly, this presentation will include a brief primer on strong and weak ties and visuals and several case studies to demonstrate how they can be concretely realized

Writing For The Web: Composing, Coding, And Constructing Web Sites

Writing for the Web unites theory, technology, and practice to explore writing and hypertext for website creation. It integrates such key topics as XHTML/CSS coding, writing (prose) for the Web, the rhetorical needs of the audience, theories of hypertext, usability and architecture, and the basics of web site design and technology. Presenting information in digestible parts, this text enables students to write and construct realistic and manageable Web sites with a strong theoretical understanding of how online texts communicate to audiences

The Rhetorical Nature Of Xml: Constructing Knowledge In Networked Environments

The Rhetorical Nature of XML is the first volume to combine rhetoric, XML, and knowledge management in a substantive manner. It serves as a primer on XML and XML-related technologies, illustrating how the naming of XML elements can be understood as a rhetorical act, and detailing the essentials of knowledge management practices that illustrate the need for intelligently conceived databases in organizations. Authors J.D. Applen and Rudy McDaniel explain how technical knowledge and rhetorical knowledge are symbiotic assets in the modern information economy, emphasizing that skilled professionals and apprentice learners must not only adapt to and become adept with new technological environments, but they must also remain aware of the dynamic social and technological contexts through which they communicate. Applen and McDaniel use this subject as a catalyst to encourage interdisciplinary connections and projects between experts in fields such as technical communication, digital media, library science, computer science, and information technology

Rhetorical Dimensions Of Social Network Analysis Visualization For Public Health

This presentation describes how social network analysis (SNA) can be applied and used in technical communication. We focus on using SNA diagrams for public health communication. SNA diagrams convey the dynamics of the transmission of disease and other complex networked relationships. We discuss three key connection patterns of relevance to public health applications: degree centrality, Eigenvector centrality, and betweenness centrality. This is followed by an overview of existing literature on disease transmission patterns and SNA. Using Gephi, an open-source software package, simple and clear renderings of the three centrality patterns are illustrated. We then describe how technical communicators can appropriately emphasize key features using visual rhetoric, and discuss the need to be mindful of how any graphics producing technology has its own built-in biases that may have rhetorical effects