[Air-l] Reminder: TCQ Special Issue Deadline 1/31/04

[Logie]

This is a one-time reminder (apologies for cross postings that make it  
more than that) that the deadline for Technical Communication  
Quarterly's special issue on "Visual Thinking, Online Documentation,  
and Hypertext" is approaching. Submissions NOT chosen for the issue  
will be forwarded onto TCQ's editors for consideration in a later  
issue, so readers are doubly encouraged to submit articles that seem  
appropriate.

The CFP is below.

Best,

John Logie and Craig Baehr, special issue co-editors

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TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION QUARTERLY: CALL FOR PAPERS

Special issue on Visual Thinking, On-line Documentation and Hypertext


Description
As the work of technical communicators shifts from print to online  
documents, we are encouraged to reconsider our ideas of how texts and  
hypertexts are navigated, interpreted and used. To meet this new  
demand, our strategies for document development must now recognize ways  
in which our audiences think visually. Many guidelines for visual  
information design focus on stylistics, design principles, page layout,  
data displays and other aesthetic considerations. But the electronic  
composing space invites us to consider new elements such as information  
architecture, interface design and navigation systems, which all  
suggest the importance of how information is structured and interpreted  
from a combined visual-spatial perspective. This special issue, of  
Technical Communication Quarterly, co-edited by Craig M. Baehr (Texas  
Tech University) and John Logie (University of Minnesota) considers  
opportunities that become available when we incorporate visual thinking  
into processes of information design and document development. This  
topic is important in two ways: (1) it addresses new approaches to  
developing on-line documentation not previously considered at length in  
this field; and (2) it considers how the changing nature of hypertext  
challenges us to adopt new development strategies that acknowledge how  
our audiences act and interact in response to highly visual media.


Possible Topics
Some issues to consider for possible topics could include the following:

- What approaches should we take when adapting print-based rhetorical  
techniques for on-line environments?

- How might we encourage audiences to think visually?

- How can visual thinking enhance usability and reader response in  
on-line documentation?

- What visual and spatial principles and techniques can be incorporated  
into pedagogies for courses in hypertext publishing and/or on-line  
documentation?

- What strategies can be used in the development of navigation systems,  
interface design, or site architecture that would address how audiences  
think in hypertext spaces?

- What social, ethical or cultural issues govern our strategies for  
incorporating visual thinking theory into our Web design and/or  
instructional practices?

- What on-line documentation practices must be reconfigured due to the  
visual and spatial nature of hypertexts?


Types of Submissions
This special issue will consider articles that address how visual  
thinking can be used to improve our methods of composing, teaching and  
interpreting hypertexts. Articles could include applications of theory,  
results of original research, case studies, and practical applications  
in both the classroom and workplace.



Deadline

Papers must be received via email no later than Saturday, January 31,  
2004.

Figures or graphics should be provided in electronic format (eps, tiff,  
or pdf) on disk (150 line screen for background, 133 lines screen for  
half-tones). Save using a resolution of at least 300 dpi.


Send papers in .DOC or .RTF format via email to:

Craig Baehr
Email: craig.baehr at ttu.edu
John Logie
Email: logie at umn.edu

Contact Information
If you have questions or would like to be considered as a reviewer for  
this special issue, contact:

John Logie
(612) 624-4709
Email: logie at umn.edu
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