Describes methods for creating integrated multimedia documents using recent advances in print, audio, and video digitization that bring added usefulness to computers as data acquisition, processing, and presentation tools. Discusses advantages of digital documentation. (JRH)

Describes the development of a method for the automatic identification of sublanguage vocabulary words as they occur in abstracts. Highlights include research relating to sublanguages and their vocabulary; domain terms; evaluation criteria, including recall and precision; and implications for natural language processing and information retrieval.…

The Teacher Assessment Project at Stanford University focused on both simulation exercises and portfolios. Although portfolios are messy to construct, difficult to score, and vulnerable to misrepresentation, they provide a connection to the contexts and personal realities of real teaching and help document teaching and learning over time.…

Describes Extensible Markup Language (XML), a subset of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) that is designed to make it easy to interchange structured documents over the Internet. Topics include Document Type Definition (DTD), components of XML, the use of XML, text and non-text elements, and uses for XML-coded files. (LRW)

Examines construction and use of documentation to create and disseminate order in activity systems of several engineering organizations. Finds that participants used documentation to protect themselves and to describe future actions for others to take. Suggests that creating effective documentation was difficult when writer and reader were from…

Based on his experiences as the leader of Vermont's Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services and a transition researcher, the author describes why transitions from institutional settings to less restrictive ones are often unsuccessful. Also offers suggestions, including wraparound, for reversing this problem. (Author/MKA)

Outlines the evolution of information design in Europe, which has long involved practitioners from a broader set of disciplines than in the United States. Speculates on reasons for differences in approach to information design in Europe and the United States. Maintains that quality of education is key to both approaches, to respect and improve…

Describes the Information SubTypes and Effects (ISTE) approach, which measures the relationship between the design of a document and the way users handle it. Positions the ISTE method within the broader context of usability testing. Describes its basic approach and some recent applications. Demonstrates that ISTE is a viable instrument for…

Explains why timing is critical in reroofing educational facilities and saving costs. Provides an example of the planning process in the areas of priority setting, creating construction documents, bidding, and construction. Reroofing tips are highlighted. (GR)

Explores the practical implications of constructivist theory for documentation that is targeted to complex tasks and experienced users. Examines the conceptual underpinnings of current task-oriented documentation and proposes why it falls short for experienced users and complex tasks. Discusses constructivist views of knowing, learning, and doing…

Argues that technical communication courses, particularly introductory courses in technical writing, must include a translation component if they are to prepare students for the kind of work they are now likely to encounter as technical communicators. Suggests the time is ripe for changing the curriculum so that students receive instruction in how…

Discusses knowledge management and considers how the profession has developed from job aids and documentation. Topics include organizational culture and policies; access to information; enabling technologies; customer focus; training for knowledge management; and leadership roles played by knowledge management and performance professionals.…

Asserts that the problem of poor documentation can be alleviated by producing better educated and more qualified technical writers. Describes how technical writing instructors can increase their own technical expertise and encourage their students to develop these skills. (SR)

Presents ways early childhood teachers can preserve records of their classroom experiences to enrich their own lives, and the lives of their descendants and those who study education. Discusses self-interviews and teacher journals, and outlines developing a timeline, tracking classroom traditions, collecting photographs and videotapes, and…

Presents an evaluative review of selected German literature on (1) the history of information and documentation and (2) on the history of the media (instruments) of scholarly information and communication. Shows that, although the quantity of publication is not large, serious research is being published on a wide range of topics within this area.…