Title :
Knowledge management and the teaching of technical communication: where does knowledge reside in the theory vs. practice debate?
Author :
Johnson, Carol Siri
Author_Institution :
New Jersey Inst. of Technol., Newark, NJ, USA
Abstract :
This article looks at the current theory vs. practice debate in the teaching of technical communication from the viewpoint of knowledge management and transfer. Where does the most relevant knowledge reside and how best can it be communicated? In an attempt to answer this question, surveyed are eight articles from three journals, exploring the source of each and its position in relation to knowledge management. It is concluded that the workplace provides data, the academy provides information, but knowledge always resides in people. A secondary finding is that class issues still play a role in the techne vs. praxis debate. Theory has a higher status than practice and this disparity leads to exclusionary tactics that can limit knowledge generation and transfer, especially in regard to multicultural and multinational knowledge workers. A recommendation is that exclusionary practices should be avoided and language should be simplified in order to include the greatest possible number of participants in the knowledge-making process.
Keywords :
knowledge management; teaching; technical presentation; knowledge generation; knowledge management; knowledge transfer; language simplification; multicultural knowledge worker; multiculturalism; multinational knowledge worker; technical communication teaching; Chaotic communication; Education; Employment; Knowledge management; Lenses; Professional communication; Raw materials; Rhetoric; Scholarships; Silicon compounds;
Conference_Titel :
Professional Communication Conference, 2003. IPCC 2003. Proceedings. IEEE International
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7949-7
DOI :
10.1109/IPCC.2003.1245512