Annotated Bibliography: The Rhetoric of Museum Signage

Below is an annotated bibliography of 15 scholarly journal articles. Each annotation is only 65 words on average and is both descriptive and evaluative of the source. Each annotation focuses on the topic of the rhetoric of museum signage, which includes labels on artifacts, interactive displays, maps, and architecture.

Original topic idea

My original goal was to research the educational aspects of the rhetoric of museum signage and displays. Museums have the difficult task of presenting contextually narrow historical information for a diverse user group and must do so in a way that conveys the correct information while being culturally diverse enough to communicate

Meeting John Irving

The following occurred between Wednesday, May 9, 2012 and Sunday May 13, 2012.

Last weekend I had an amazing and unbelievable experience. I met with John Irving—here is how it happened.

Wednesday, May 9 was an average day—I was at work sitting at my desk and working on the same things I normally do; drinking the same beverage I do; seeing the same buildings outside of my window that I see every day. I then received a message from my coworker Blava Mac who sent me a URL to a writing contest from The Paris Review:

Article Review: Adapting Usability Investigations for Agile User-centered Design

Sy, Desiree. 2007. “Adapting Usability Investigations for Agile User-centered Design.” Journal of Usability Studies 2 (3) (May): 112-132.

Introduction

Autodesk (http://usa.autodesk.com/) develops popular software that although many people may not have used, most people know of their flagship product—AutoCAD 3D rendering software. Because of the complex nature of the software and the steep learning curve to learn how to use it, Autodesk has invested in many avenues for creating a better user experience. From traditional usability testing to avant-garde applications and uses of social media, Autodesk realizes that the key to their continuing success is to continue providing end-to-end customer experiences (Gilbane Group 2011).

What to Expect Presenting at an Academic Conference

Last month, I submitted a proposal to present a research paper on technical communications and rhetoric and it was accepted. The conference was in Albuquerque, New Mexico and would be my first academic conference as either an attendee or presenter.  I wanted to recap my experience and provide some answers to questions that I had going into the conference.

Using Latin abbreviations in technical writing

Some professions continue to use Latin abbreviations because of tradition, the need for precise terms, or to represent an appearance of knowledge (probably stemming from a misguided effort to create an ethos of “learnèd”).

Along with medicine, the law, and academia, technical writing has traditionally used Latin abbreviations because of their scientific accuracy–instead of substituting a translated substitution, technical documents would rely on the objective and universal meanings of Latin phrases. For instance, searching for “Latin abbreviations in technical writing” will

Article review: Systems of Classification and the Cognitive Properties of Grant Proposal Formal Documents

The following is my descriptive title based on my review/analysis and application to proposal writing for technical communicators:

“Understanding hidden meaning in grant and proposal application forms.”

Wolff, William I. 2009. “Systems of Classification and the Cognitive Properties of Grant Proposal Formal Documents.” Technical Communication Quarterly 18 (4) (October): 303-326.

This article’s abstract sounded like a scholarly work with a pragmatic application to proposal writing but turned out to be a quite esoteric research study. Wolff researched those who created grant/proposal forms—their meetings, interviews with the committees (departments, members etc.)—and ultimately the forms themselves. However, I did find interesting information and ideas that pertain to grant/proposal writing.

Usability issue setting up Google TV (NSZ-GT1)

With classes starting at Minnesota State University, Mankato, next week, I bought and set up a new 42” LED TV with a Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player (Google TV – NSZ-GT1).

You may be wondering why I would do such a thing before starting another semester in graduate school. The reason is that my wife knows that I will be spending most nights upstairs in the office and if she wants to watch TV or a movie, she will be downstairs where our only TV currently resides.

That explains why I came upon the information that follows in this post. Setting up the Google TV