Programmatic Perspectives

Let us know what you think about the journal’s first issue.

Tracy Bridgeford, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Karla Saari Kitalong, Michigan Tech
Bill Williamson, Saginaw Valley State University

Designing the Total User Experience: Implications for Research and Program Development
James P. Zappen, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Cheryl Geisler, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Abstract. Information design has traditionally focused on usability as measured by functionality and efficiency in the execution of user tasks. Newer approaches to experience design and new communication technologies such as the so-called Web 2.0 platform and its Ajax engine emphasize total user engagement with the technology and richer collaborations among users. These developments complicate traditional notions of agency by highlighting the role of technology as mediator between and among users. A project in Tech-Mediated Communication at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, funded by the Society for Technical Communication, illustrates how these developments impact the development of novel and creative information resources, with several experiments in cross-cultural, community-oriented, and educational systems design. This work also emphasizes the need to develop research agendas and programmatic initiatives that support interdisciplinary collaborative design activities and thus help technical communicators to meet their collective responsibility to influence and shape the mediating technologies of the future by creating more engaging and more collaborative total user experiences.

The Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication at 35 Years: A Sequel and Perspective
Bruce Maylath, North Dakota State University
Jeffrey T. Grabill, Michigan State University

Abstract. Building on the 1996 retrospective by Pearsall and Warren, the authors examine the decade that followed for the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC). As the world became more closely knitted together through trade agreements and advancements in communication technology, CPTSC took up its mission in response as it helped promote program growth internationally. During this period, the organization added many more members beyond the United States, as it hosted a series of roundtables in Europe and Canada, working to diversify the ethnic make-up of its membership through scholarships. As the global economy fostered development of high technology, CPTSC assisted in academic program growth and assessment and promoted research focused on programmatic issues by starting a research grant program and launching the scholarly journal Programmatic Perspectives.

Trajectories, Kairos, and Tulips: A Personal Reflection and Meditation on Programs in Rhetoric, Technical, Professional, and Scientific Communication
Robert R. Johnson, Michigan Technological University

Abstract. The purpose of this article is to reflect upon the emergence of programs in rhetoric, technical, professional, and scientific communication (RTPSC) during the past twenty years through a personal narrative of experiences from graduate study to the present. Using a method of inquiry based in rhetorical meditation, the article presents a story of these experiences at Purdue University, Miami University-Ohio, and Michigan Tech University and then moves outward toward national concerns and, finally, suggests a selected inventory of challenges the RTPSC field faces in the coming years.

Growth and Community: A Few Thoughts on the Organics of Professional Communication
Dale Sullivan, North Dakota State University

This keynote was presented at the 2007 annual meeting at Eastern Carolina University in
Greenville, North Carolina, on October 11, 2007. The meeting’s theme for that year was
“Sustainable Growth in Technical & Scientific Communication: Principles, Personal, and
Programmatic.”

Profile of Professional Writing at Michigan State University
Dànielle Nicole DeVoss, Michigan State University
Laura Julier, Michigan State University

Abstract. This article provides an institutional context and a program history for the Professional Writing undergraduate major at Michigan State University. A program profile, disciplinary strengths, faculty overview, and assessment issues are described.

On the Significance of Programmatic Perspectives
Bill Williamson, Saginaw Valley State University

Abstract. This editorial considers the disciplinary movement that has resulted in the creation of this new scholarly space—Programmatic Perspectives. The author suggests that the journal will both stimulate intellectual exchange about the challenges and responsibilities of program administration and help enculturate new members of the administrative professional community.

Katherine Staples’ memorial for Ken Rainey.