Title :
The culture(s) of the technical communicator
Author_Institution :
Dept. of English, Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
fDate :
6/1/2002 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The role of the technical communication practitioner stems from the need for members from two distinct professions to connect; for example, engineers have created some new technology, and users who are (assumedly) unfamiliar with the technology want or need to understand that technology. The article presents an interface between the two professions which proposes a reconceptualization of the relationship between technicians/engineers and users. This reconceptualization can and should be provided by technical communicators who create a culture which encompasses both the technician and the user. In addition, this reconceptualization parallels the means originally proposed by C. P. Snow (1959) to mend the rift between the sciences and the humanities
Keywords :
human factors; professional communication; culture; engineers; new technology; technical communication practitioner; technical communicator culture; technical communicators; Books; Buildings; Design engineering; Labeling; Professional communication; Programming profession; Snow; Software testing; Style sheet languages; Usability;
Journal_Title :
Professional Communication, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TPC.2002.1003696