{"title":"Marking information in computer documentation: why and when?","authors":"A. Maes","doi":"10.1109/IPCC.1997.637052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.1997.637052","url":null,"abstract":"A typical design characteristic of computer documentation, either hardcopy or online, is the tendency to break through the monotony of running text and to mark particular text segments by using typographical highlighting, layout signals, graphical or pictorial features. One might think that the use of this design feature is the result of computer documentation containing warnings and other important information segments which simply require special marking. In this paper, it is contended that such a view is too simple and even incorrect. The paper presents the results of studies which focus on the use and the effect of lexical markers (in particular the Dutch variant of \"Attention!\") in computer manuals. The first (analytical) study explores the way in which designers use lexical markers in computer manuals, the second (experimental) studies examine the effect of lexical markers on the users' comprehension and appreciation. On the basis of these results, conclusions are drawn on the adequate use of lexical markers in computer manuals.","PeriodicalId":255103,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131185641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Visions for the information industry: opportunities and challenges for higher education","authors":"R. Grice, M. Haselkorn","doi":"10.1109/IPCC.1997.637077","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.1997.637077","url":null,"abstract":"The opportunities of the information age open new avenues of growth and development for information technologists in industry and in academia, but success will not come to those who passively sit and wait. It will come to those who seize opportunities and forge new partnerships for growth. We discuss a vision of current and likely future developments in the information industry, and the opportunities and challenges these developments present to higher education. We focus on three areas: historical trends and recent changes in the nature of the computer and information industry; recent initiatives in higher education to address this new information environment; and how to restructure higher education so it can play a leading role in meeting the needs of industry and society.","PeriodicalId":255103,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication","volume":"78 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123545166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fact, context, communication: the value added to data by communication design","authors":"J. Ramey","doi":"10.1109/IPCC.1997.637067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.1997.637067","url":null,"abstract":"\"Facts\" cannot be viewed as irreducible units of data but rather must be judged for appropriateness dependent upon context; information and messages built from data are even more immersed in the circumstances surrounding their creation; and the feature that determines the success of a document or other form of communication is exactly its responsiveness to the habits of mind of the message consumer. Therefore, the job of the technical communicator is to design with a clear view of the message consumer and the context in which the message will be received. To build these considerations into design, technical communicators must follow user centered design practices.","PeriodicalId":255103,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124788979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Communication and engineers: collisions at the crossroads!","authors":"Joseph A. Robinson, D. Ph.","doi":"10.1109/IPCC.1997.637072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.1997.637072","url":null,"abstract":"Differences in individual goals, language and culture build barriers to effective communication at the crossroads between engineers and technical communicators as project team members. The barriers appear in starting, supporting, scheduling and guiding projects. Open communication, active listening and collaborative problem solving can help the project leader \"wave 'em through and watch 'em smile\".","PeriodicalId":255103,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication","volume":"33 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115024986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How to get the reviews you need-on time","authors":"M. Magyar","doi":"10.1109/IPCC.1997.637071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.1997.637071","url":null,"abstract":"For the fortunate few, the review process is smooth, well-integrated with product development, and effective. For the rest of us, it is a continuing struggle to get the reviewers to look at the document, to make useful comments, and to get it back to us on time. I have found that by combining the concepts of levels of edit with a modular approach to project management, I can make life easier for my reviewers, and thus get a much more effective response from them. This paper outlines the concepts; the presentation walks through examples of the process.","PeriodicalId":255103,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication","volume":"4034 1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127547943","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"International Internet-based project collaboration: a case study","authors":"D. Samson, T. Okuda","doi":"10.1109/IPCC.1997.637068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.1997.637068","url":null,"abstract":"Hitachi Ltd., Fujitsu Ltd. and NEC Corporation are partnering to get electronic commerce up and running on the Internet in Japan [Nikkei Weekly]. Meanwhile, a small computer retailer in Gifu prefecture has already launched an electronic commerce site on the Web, aided by a joint development project with Weber State University in Utah and Asahi University in Gifu. The paper reports on the project and lessons learned.","PeriodicalId":255103,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128302185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reverse engineering of user documents: a pilot study","authors":"G. Reece","doi":"10.1109/IPCC.1997.637076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.1997.637076","url":null,"abstract":"The incorporation of instructional design (ID) strategies into user software documents is investigated, and a new, reverse engineering-based, approach to the problem of determining the ID strategies that are used in the production of documents is presented. This approach disassembles the document into its individual components and relationships then uses that information to construct a high-level model of the document specification and identify the methods used to construct the document. An initial pilot study that tests the implementation of the method is also presented. In that study, responses from a selected group of evaluators are used to perform the reverse engineering of two documents for word processing programs, and a possible statistical analysis of the results is examined.","PeriodicalId":255103,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication","volume":"70 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133932301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Minimalism-can you have too much of a good thing?","authors":"K. Tylak","doi":"10.1109/IPCC.1997.637045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.1997.637045","url":null,"abstract":"Technical documentation has a reputation for being large, dense, and cumbersome. Methods and tools for simplifying documentation have been available for some time, but haven't taken off like wildfire. Minimalism advocates a streamlined, action-oriented approach that removes descriptive filler material and gets the user acting quickly. A method developed in my organization claims to produce streamlined, action-oriented material, but actually takes information to a level that makes minimalism look verbose. The paper compares minimalism to the author's organization's method and discusses how one can benefit from minimalist ideas.","PeriodicalId":255103,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124836252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Toward a user-centered web design: lessons learned from user feedback","authors":"Teresa Lau, Sun","doi":"10.1109/IPCC.1997.637042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.1997.637042","url":null,"abstract":"To increase the usability, functionality and user satisfaction of Sun Microsystems' Web site, user-centered design methodologies were adapted in the site-wide redesign effort starting in the Fall of 1996. The paper discusses the methods used to gain user feedback and the pitfalls of the old Web design obtained from these studies. Special emphasis is on the use of graphics, navigation, home page design and the use of Java. The implementation of the new design is also presented.","PeriodicalId":255103,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128896417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluating the usability of Yellow Pages in US and Japan as living manuals","authors":"T. Okuda","doi":"10.1109/IPCC.1997.637066","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.1997.637066","url":null,"abstract":"The telephone systems allow us to be in immediate contact with all other companies or people and to use business information in a timely manner. As a result, we have collapsed the information lag, which is the time it takes for information to be transmitted through the world. Collapsing the information lag helps us create our convenient daily lives. Today's problem may be that we cannot handle the vast quantities of information. So, the key issues are how to search and display desired information from and across the vast quantities of information. One of the issues is how to use the Yellow Pages efficiently to search for a desired telephone number, when we use the telephone systems. So, in the paper, the author attempts a quantitative analysis of the Yellow Pages as a manual to show its excellence and also to compare US and Japanese Yellow Pages.","PeriodicalId":255103,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132172039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}