I believe everyone has value in society and if we do not allow them the same access that any abled-bodied person would have does not seem fair. It is a major setback because of their condition. If we do not even the playing field, they will face much more difficulty and will be seen as lesser human beings, all because society makes it so. The fact that the author says that there is no such thing as a text that meets everyone's needs is true, but we should work towards a text that includes as many people as we can.

I completely agree with this statement. We should all be working to improve the accessibility of our digital communication. We all grow old, we could potentially get into an unfortunate accident to where we become disabled, anything can happen and we should be working at improving technology. Whether it is a suggestion or developing an entirely new software.

This article is disproving the idea of UD. The first author, Jonathan mentions that UD is a myth and inaccessibility can be socially productive. We can try to include disabled people in the way we function in society but we also have to accept their differences. The author goes on to discuss ASL and some of the inaccessible features such as lack of audio or captions in video clips. The second author, Rick is a disabled academic who speaks from personal experiences. He says that UD and the resistance to digital tools both posit a universal subject; and DH needs to balance its embrace of UD with further attention to the particulars of embodied experience.He goes on to say that everyone is different and with UD, we are basically trying to get everyone to be the same or operate the same.

The world will never be perfect and the sooner we understand that, the closer we will be at achieving a better society. We have to accept our differences and go from there. I don't think we should label disabled people as disabled. I think there should be a better term to describe their differences because it makes them seem as if they are lesser. The author says "disabled/extraordinary/eccentric bodies," as another way of phrasing the challenges people must face. It's a better way of phrasing their differences.

It is important that we accommodate for disabled people. Not everyone wants to ask for another person's help. Everyone wants some sort of independence and to completely rely on someone else can be hurt one's pride.

Unfortunately, technology is imperfect and can fail us so sometimes people have to ask for help and that is fine, but there should be an effective way of providing assistance for those disabled.

In the previous article by George Williams I mentioned that if you don't have a specific audience, it becomes extremely hard to reach people. To be forced to accommodate for all audiences can confuse the audience on what your purpose is.

I've always wondered how people who were blind could go see a movie or video or something visual. I know there are ways of speaking about what is going on in a scene like a book would describe something. However, I don't necessarily think there would be a completely genuine accessible way for blind people to watch a film, which would mean that Universal design is a Utopian concept.

It is almost impossible to please and accommodate everyone. It would be lovely to include everyone in all digital communication, but there are so many different factors that can affect the way a website functions.

This quote is very sad, but it is also true. I agree with this quote that if everyone does live long enough then, disability is a trait that we all inhabit. It all depends on how well we take care of ourselves. If we take good care of ourselves for a long time then, we might not inhabit any disability. If we don't take good care of ourselves then, we might become disabled. But like this statement says, "disability conjures an elusive future"(Godden and Hsy). Disability appears to be difficult to remember or recall. This means that if we do dwell on disability for a long time, it will get harder to remember how acquired it.

The author's opinion in this article is totally different from the previous article called: "Disability, Universal Design, and the Digital Humanities." This article states that it is impossible to make a device that is accessible in every language and in every sensor, motor, or knowledge. The other article("Disabilities, Universal Design, and the Digital Humanities") encourages inventors to make designs that are universal. In other words, it encourages people to make designs that are pleasing to everyone. I believe that both of the article are correct. While it would make the world better for everyone to live in if all designs were universal so that everyone could have access to them, it is also not very realistic to believe that people can make designs that satisfy everyones' needs at the same time. Not every inventor is going to think about everybody in the world while making their invention. They are only going to focus on a particular audience because, if they did focus on everyone then, they would never succeed in making their new device or tool.

To me this is one of the more interesting and saddening quotes of the article. Robert McRuer notes that as we age all of us will eventually succumb to one disability or another. This reminds me of the saying, "...we start dieing the day we're born". That hits home for me as well since I've seen my own vision degrade over the years. When I do not have my glasses on, I rely on familiar shapes and my memory of what certain words look like since I can't make out each individual letter.

When we as technical writers are creating content whether for the web or any kind of print media, we need to be conscious of potential disabilities. When we write for the web, some of that content may always be on the web. People will age with the content. What could have been clear and effective writing in the present, could be confusing or even wordy in the future. There may be no solution to making sure our content is just as effective now as it will be 50 years from now. By planning for as many disabilities and trying to reach as many audiences by using every mode possible, we as writers could get close this Utopian ideal. As I learned from a Lynda.com tutorial, good writing is already SEO optimized. I believe that applies to all writing. Good writing is good writing. Shakespeare lives on because his content was good enough to outlive changes in language. By accounting for disabilities we too can improve the chances of our writing outlasting ourselves.

When I'm performing chores around the house, I like to have something visual on in the background. Usually that takes the shape something on Netflix, usually The Office or some kind of sporting event. However, sometimes I get adventurous and I will put a movie on that has subtitles. I then find that when I am sweeping the floor I can't just listen to the noise and speech and understand generally what is going on. I have to keep looking up to read the subtitles. Then I stop cleaning.

I thought of this when I read this quote by Jonathan. There were video clips during the discussion but those who were hearing impaired would have trouble understanding the content when they can't hear what is being said, especially if that audio is voice over. While I'm not trying to compare my difficulty to theirs, a user's interaction with the video content can be hampered without proper attention to something as simple as subtitles. I find it interesting that even hip hop concerts are beginning to incorporate ASL translators too sign the lyrics of the song. This is something I find massively impressive as some rappers rap faster than others. This way even though there are no subtitles, someone who is deaf can understand what is being said and follow along.

As people become more conscious of those with disabilities I look forward to see how languages like ASL could be incorporated into more public events in the future.

I find this passage interesting since Jonathan was confronted with his own "audiocentric privilege" by attending a DSDJ event that was geared primarily for those who speak American Sign Language and he, as a non-ASL attendee, was left out of many of the proceedings due to his lack of linguistic (American Sign Language) understanding.

We spend so much time thinking about how someone who is deaf is left out, but very rarely are we personally experience what this is like in real life. Traveling to other countries I have come close to this feeling since I did not speak Italian or French (the French didn't appreciate me trying to speak German) and was left out of conversations, billboards and television. Like I assume a deaf person would, I needed to pay attention to facial movements and hand gestures.

Something that could help us all is to try to attempt to watch a video without sound, take notes and see if we come close to figuring out what the actual film is about without listening. This again could apply to our website since any video we could use, could benefit from having a video that is accessible to the deaf by adding subtitles and transcriptions, which also increase optimization.

I find this passage interesting in that Ron Mace explains what it is that we technical writers are trying to do. He explains that in (information) architecture, all products and environments need to be "usable to the greatest extent possible..." He also mentions and I agree, that this connects very well with the article by George Williams.

The idea of universal design is to include as many audiences as possible. We may never reach them all, but in the pursuit of that lofty ideal we will find the most success as technical writers.

I also like that Mace uses the word "environment". This is a great way to describe how we interact and will continue to interact with websites for example, in the future. In creating this content, we are creating an environment that should be usable to multiple audiences. By creating an environment for just one small audience we are creating content that has bad usability and will eventually become obsolete as users find better and more efficient ways to communicate.

Universal Design is a necessary ideal when trying to appeal to as many audiences as possible. I like how Yergeau et al acknowledges that universal design is a "means rather than an end". In both readings, I believe that the ideals of universal design to reach all audiences may be impossible, but the pursuit of it is worth the trouble. He also goes on to explain that there will never be a text that is all things to all people. I believe that this means we need to strive to achieve universal design, but also know in the back of our minds that it may be impossible. Since the purpose of technology is to assist humans, our job is to assist those humans by doing our best to apply the concepts of universal design to our work. There may always be someone that is left out of our designs, but as long as we try to include as many people as we can we will find ourselves included on the team as well as employed.

I think this is a great quote about how the world has and does view those with special needs. As a past history major one always has to research a little more when the word "eccentric" is used. Often that word can describe a whole litany of conditions when used in older texts.

I also like the phrase that Rick uses, "Eccentric and extraordinary bodies have the potential to puncture the illusion of the universal..." People that have special needs are actually the people that can be the reason that the needle of technology is pushed forward. As Williams mentions, "All technology is assistive in the end." Some may look at those with disabilities as holding back efficiency by requiring assistance. But that assistance is what can push technology forward, especially when applied to universal design. By making technology easier to use for as many audiences as possible, we are improving not only the tech but helping puncture the illusion that Rick mentions in the above quote.

This is a definition that comes up again in William's article about Universal Design. Building physical and digital environments can provide barrier free access to people with disabilities. By doing this with Universal Design those with disabilities can operate more independently and rely on humans less. But Rick goes on to explain that at times, technology fails and humans can still offer assistance that technology cannot yet provide.

I can understand that when one goes through life with special needs, they may start to feel like a burden to the people around them. This guilt can force someone to use technology, especially if that person doesn't have anyone they can depend on to help them consistently. Technology can fill that gap. But as the author explains there are limitations, but those limitations are what will fuel future innovation.

American Sign Language uses embodied actions, manual gestures and facial expressions. Jonathan explains that all of these expressions are crucial in creating a system of grammar for those with speaking disabilities. He mentions that Flash Video clips are crucial for content. I'm not sure how exactly this helps, but in my own experience I have seen this help with autistic and disabled children from my time as a substitute teacher with Atlanta Public Schools.

During my day with an elementary level special needs class I noticed that at times the students could easily work on a task such as math for a few minutes, no longer, before losing interest or becoming frustrated. However, when they were placed in front of a computer and provided a video about math, they were not only immediately engaged, but visibly happier. Having taken this class thus far, I now find that experience even more interesting considering our reading assignment. When other modes of communication were presented to children with learning disabilities the same information that had minutes before been ignored on paper was now, it seemed, being learned and a more full comprehension accomplished.

In our strategy, we need to see where we might be able to add a video or a visual element that may help not only a child, but an adult as well. These children will eventually become adults and will need this type of assistance in the future. Since technical writers are in the business of taking something that is complex and making it simpler and easier to understand, it would behoove us think about this when possible in creating our content. Text only content is boring to most, but with someone who may be suffering from a learning disability it could be almost impossible to understand the material. This would be very frustrating if the content was a necessary part of their daily life.

I believe that Jane Bringold is correct in her assertion that Universal Design is a bit Utopian. The "Utopian Ideal" of Universal Design seems more theoretical than practical. I would compare this to translating languages in literature. There are words, phrases and feelings that may not exist in one language but are very important and intrinsic in another. To me, in translating different media to other mediums, there will always be something that is lost. Whether just watching a movie with no sound and subtitles or reading a book and then viewing the movie, elements of the original content will be lost for different audiences. Therefore striving for a that "Utopian Ideal" is not a worthless endeavor since it will bring us closer and closer to Universal Design and thus closer better comprehension of content. But there may always be a slight disconnect between mediums. So when applied to technical writing, I believe that our goal is to get as close as we can to Universal Design so that our content can be as inclusive and effective as possible. The more audiences the content can speak to, the more valuable that content can be. Also, the more valuable the creator/writer of that content will be...

This passage is quite interesting since I too after reading this article, had to confront my own "Anglophone privilege". While playing guitar with a band, I use my ears to listen to the notes of the bass guitar and the rhythm of the drums to find out where I need to come in. When I work I use my ears to listen to any and every noise related to a segway. I have a 6th sense now. I know every way a segway can sound when it hits something. I honestly can't imagine trying to do my job without my hearing. It would be possible, but much more difficult. This why I was very worried when I had a potential loss in hearing at an indoor gun range. WEAR HEARING PROTECTION. Or don't shoot guns.

But some people do have to perform their jobs without the use of their ears or eyes.

I too agree with "eryndesiree" and think it's important to embrace minorities. Race and ethnicity are important to embrace in technical communication because if the ideas of the minorities are left out, then so are the end users.

This is important because this illuminates the idea that people of color are going to be brought to light. In addition it gives credit to where it is due just as the way women's name needed to have recognition in technical works this idea works the same for racial minorities.

This relates to Durak as both articles express the few and far academic articles that details the minorities in technical communication. Maybe like Durak expresses maybe the idea is just the topic and the minorities works in technical communication are hidden, miscredited, or obscured, just like women's work was.

In order to reach a wider demographic, it is essential not to avoid race in technical communication, but embrace it so that it can be used to bring about the best qualities to the particular end users.

It is important to acknowledge the importance of diversity in a world that is basically built on it. This final article was selected to add more research to the analysis of diversity, which is essential to strengthening technical communication.

This article shows the importance of the relationship between what is technically communicated and the end users who will receive this information. This disproves the effectiveness of the color blind perspective by showing that different groups understand information in different ways.

This second article focuses on the growth of the population and how the writing and wording of the censuses bring about racial injustice. The analyses made by these authors show the discrepancies in the tally of Hispanics and in favor of whites.

Each article was carefully selected to play a key role in the overall scheme. In the first article it is made aware that faking color blindness to bring unity does not appear effective in a technical communication scene because race, ethnicity, etc can play a major role in what is being communicated and how it is being communicated.

To topic of race is highly important to be discussed in country like America where people come from all different countries and cultures. Although it is not always discussed, it is proven to be a topic of importance in the teaching of technical communication and is finally being brought to light.

The color blind perspective that is being practiced in many technical communication classrooms is not one of validity, because of the assumptions that it is built on. Although it seems like a pleasant thought that society is based solely on your individual achievements and failures, we know better. We know that the system was built on inequalities, therefore must still exist in today's world.

Race is still a very important part of our day to day lives. The authors us of words like "unfortunately" when thinking of this is not quite the most professional or sensible word to use. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging race in a given society, only in the inequalities that may come about.

As time progresses, more people of different races are becoming a part of the population of society. This should bring about more awareness of race in technical communication instead of the choice to ignore the fact that races exist.

Although many steps are being towards the unity and equality of races, we still see that inequalities and differences still exist. This is important to acknowledge through technical communicators, instead of shunning the idea and causing confusion by trying to communicate under the false pretense that we all are the same and are being treated as such.

This is the first of four articles the author "explicitly address race, ethnicity, or multiculturalism in technical communication. " It analyzes racism, ethnicism, and technology at the graduate curriculum in a class system. This is the best of the four articles because it results in randomness, and gives greater variations of study. There is less random error and bias in this study. In addition it views it race, ethnicity, and multiculturalism in technical communication through a public professional, and private professional lens.

This claim provides support of the inequalities that minorities face in technical communication and works. Their is rarity of technical research done on minorities in the U.S.

This claim raises importance to the dynamics of time. The early 90's was a time of embracement, and culturalism, right after the civil rights movement and the war on drugs. There were motives to bring people together one including the EEOC, Equal Employment Oppurunity Act, that enforced workplace fairness. It also raises the rarity of writings in the U.S. that discuss race and ethnicity in technical communication.

This is something I too totally agree with. As a African American female sometimes I feel like there are odds and obstacles that I encounter that differ from those of whites and more directly white females of America. I often here race related comments in the workplace and sometimes even at school. However, I am one who avoids this conversation, viewing this as a life long problem with no solution, as well as creating a commotion of disruption. Racism, and discrimination are very touchy subjects, that some just will never come to understand due to social constructs. Although it is optimistic to believe that we are all created equal and have equal chances in life, the truth is that racism will always exist through inequalities of the present and future, making opportunities and resources less attainable for minorities as a whole.

I agree with this statement in both ways that giving a blindness to race, creates a stigma that race is not important, as well as giving favorability/superiority to "WEA's" only by color. Although the idea acts to view each other as individuals it does not allow us to embrace who we are whether it be black or white. The color blindness perspective too, allows advantages based on color and not merit. This also relates to "White Privilege" which is unfair benefits that one receives just from the white color of their skin.

Starts the argument of inequality existing between white American and minorities. Although we have come far to overcome injustices of society, we still have yet to close the wide gaps of inequalities faced for minorities This statement gives an introduction of what is expected to be read about within the article.

Crowdsourcing is such an amazing development. There should be more people who can find the time to help people without being paid. There are good people like this everywhere.

To grow as a society we have to uplift each other and that should mean including our disabled people. We should be able to provide for those people without much difficulty. There are many programs to help with that. People have to realize that anyone can become disabled and they would not be happy if they couldn't access a form of digital communication because they weren't considered.

Sometimes it is hard to accommodate everyone. When developing or selling products, you should have a target audience to create the best possible product and campaign for the audience you feel would buy the product. When the audience is broad or large, it's hard to appeal to everyone. I would feel that developing a website would be similar. I am sure it is difficult to ensure everyone can easily access your site without much difficulty. Especially because some people are more tech-saavy than others and people have different needs.

People don't always understand that technology is really just creating easier ways for us to function in society. When there is something that we don't want to do or something that is repetitive or non-engaging we may develop a software or technology to do it for us or make it easier for us. We would basically be doing the same thing for disabled people in developing technology that helps them, so why not include them in the process.

Humans are not open to change. It takes a long time to incorporate a new technology in society. There are thousands of new developments and products being created, but because people may see them as unnecessary or unintelligible. If something is different we reject it and technology companies aren't inclined to put out different or new things because it will usually fail so they usually just improve what we already have.

This is honestly my biggest pet peeve with society. I understand that there is usually a standard that we naturally follow as human beings, but I don't feel it is fair that we deem one way as the right way. Everyone is not the same; everyone thinks differently; everyone is raised differently so everyone shouldn't be expected to do things a certain way. In WIlliams' experience with the woman who can understand speech spoken at a much faster rate, he states that can't understand and has to ask the woman to slow the speech's speed, yet he is not labeled disabled.

This article is about the neglect towards towards disabled people in regards to communication with digital information. The author hopes to influence people to incorporate digital information to where a disabled person can easily access the internet just as an abled person would. Universal design means that a product is usable to the greatest extent possible by everyone and the author hopes that the internet will one day have a universal design that doesn't leave disabled people neglected. The author comes up with a few websites like Wordpress, Drupal, Omeka, MediaWiki and Joomla that have easily accessible tools for disabled people to use (CMS). There are generous people who dedicate their time to help with software, products and such, known as crowdsourcers. The government has some laws that force companies to insure that their buildings, streets, etc. are accessible to disabled people, but there is not any regulation for websites.

There are so many different technologies these days that are beneficial to society that people do not know about. Even the talk-to-text feature is something just now becoming popular, but it has been out for a long time. You can easily speak your message and your phone, tablet, or computer will type it out for you. It seems people are just now getting used to it to where it is becoming a social norm. This reminds me of when I was about 13 years old when wi-fi wasn't popular in homes (well maybe not for my age group) and my peers wouldn't understand the concept of wireless internet. When I would ask about wi-fi they wouldn't know what I was talking about and weren't open to the change. I've had many experiences like that because I am fairly up to date with technology.

In the text, Williams mentioned most disabled people are older, low income individuals, which makes it harder to accommodate those users because for one, there won't be very many using the tools because they are older and not so tech-saavy. Of course, there are chances that they may come across the site, but it won't be as frequently as abled people. And also, the fact that it is expensive to create software or even hire translators will discourage people to try to gather this technology for the disabled. It would be nice if we could help everyone, but sometimes the resources aren't there. Unfortunately, if there is not a huge demand for such services, people won't be persuaded to create special products for the disabled.

People with disabilities have been neglected for a long time. But I think that inventors are improving to make devices that are accessible to non-disabled people also accessible to disabled people. They made a huge improvement with wheelchairs. Before, it was people who were sitting on wheelchairs had to manually roll the wheels for the wheelchair to move. They still make this kind, but you are seeing less and less of these. Now with a press of just one button and the turning of a small cylinder-like stick, people can move when they want without having to move the wheels by themselves. I believe that if inventors keep trying to make these kind of improvements, then everyone will be very satisfied.

Blind people can't use any device with a screen. Since they can't see, a screen is basically useless to them. They would have to use devices that have a braille or audio transcribed in it. I think that digital inventors should start thinking of some way to improve devices with screens, so that blind people can start using them too. Blind people might also want to use touch screen. They want to fit in, and not want other people to think that they are different from anyone else. Blind people don't want to be judged just because they are blind.

Touch screens are bringing more of the possibility of people just having to use their finger to touch. Mouses are beginning to be useless. In this section, it says that touch screens help the disabled. But, what about people who are blind? How do they use touch screens? Blind people can't see the screen, so how can they use it. I believe that blind people would find the mouses more useful than touch screen. With mouses, the innovators can put braille on them so it would be easier for them to use it. Innovators can't really put braille on the touch screen. But, it think that digital inventors can start thinking about how they are going to put braille on touch screen. This will make it a whole lot easier for blind people to use. Therefore, I do not agree when this section says that, "Both of these technologies are extremely useful for people who are disabled..."(Williams).

I don't quite understand this section of the article. Don't useful and usable mean the same thing? If something is usable, should it not also be useful? Usable means something that is available or convenient while, useful means something that is helpful or of good effect. When inventing a device, we should focus on it being usable because, if it is usable then it should also be useful. Usable is for short term, while useful is for long term. Innovators should first think about making the device or tool usable, and then think about how to make it useful. Because, if the device is available or of convenience, then it should also be of advantageous or helpful.

I also agree that people with disabilities will be at great advantage if digital people continue to work on projects that take on the concept of universal design principles. Even though it might be time consuming and take a lot of hard work from the digital innovators, but people with disabilities really need this help. Working for disabled people, could also help the innovators rethink about invention whether it really helps everybody or just a particular audience. For example, how can tools in the kitchen be reinvented to help not only non-disabled people but also disabled people? Are there even tools in the kitchen that help disabled people who like to cook food? These are some questions that innovators might be thinking of to help the disabled people.

I feel like this online tool will be able to help a lot of disabled people. The users of this tool will be able to read aloud what is on the screen, while the people who have low vision or are blind can just listen to what is on the screen. People who are hard of hearing or are deaf can read the captions that people have transcribed using the tool. Scripto is a "user-friendly interface"(Williams) that allows people to contribute their own translations to an online source.

This to me is one of the best reasons to apply Universal Design. Since the goal of Universal Design is to create design that can be used by as many people as possible, creating a website that can do that would be efficient.

Since I am not in any of the tech industries quite yet, I can assume from experience with my wife and mother, designing for special needs communities doesn't seem to a common goal for a few companies. That is not to say these are bad places necessarily, but that aspect of design may not be a priority. But, what if in the near future, websites are required to be ADA compliant just like a building? In this case the website would need to be re-engineered to accommodate a new audience when that audience could have been accommodated for from the beginning.

As tech writers if we apply Universal Design to our own work than we will be doing exactly what we have read about and discussed in class, reaching as many audiences as possible. Universal Design is also another reason to apply as many modes as possible to our content so that the information can be comprehended as efficiently as possible to some one who is blind, deaf or otherwise impaired. All of this improves efficiency for not only the company or non-profit creating the product or content, but the user as well.

This section caught my attention in that it is outlining how in the academic world, many professors might balk at using a proprietary software to share their work, but may not give a second thought as to how the format or design of their content could exclude others (current professor not included...) all the same.

This grabbed my attention since I'm not sure I would think that way at first as well. In my opinion, the academic world is a perfect place to begin implementing universal design elements where possible. Looking at my own blog, I'm very confident that there was no thought into how someone with a disability or someone who is unable to access a computer could process the information I have assembled. To go off the first part of this article, I have a "free" blog because I have paid my tuition. So technically it is a proprietary format as well.

One step I could begin within my own blog is to simply try to access and use it from my cell phone. Is there another theme that makes the content easier to scroll through? Could my fonts be bigger or bolder? Would it be possible to add pertinent videos that have subtitles? I think trying to add elements of universal design will be good training to get my mind rolling in that direction when thinking about my own work in the future. This will only make me more employable as well.

I find this to be a great summation of technology, "All technology is assistive, in the end". Whether it's the first wheel or the first calculator, technology in the end is advanced by the need to assist humans. The first robot I ever saw was built for the purpose of assisting humans within the home. To someone with a disability this could change their life.

When we think about technology, there is no reason why it shouldn't be used to help those who are blind read a book or a website homepage. In the end Williams mentions, "...there is no "natural" way to interact with the 1's and 0's that make up the data we are interested in creating...". This too goes back to our job as tech writers and information architects. In some cases we are making a world that is full of 1's and 0's more accessible to as many people as possible. If technology's primary goal is to assist humans, than it is our goal to assist them with their interactions with that technology. Whether that includes web design or content management, in the case of my own service learning project, we are adapting a piece of technology to a larger audience by making the website easier to use.

It would then make sense that we would use technology to assist those who need the most assistance. By adapting technology to meet the needs of the disabled, we are fulfilling the mission of technological innovation itself, to create an easier world for humans.

When different forms of media exclude approaches that could cater to those with disabilities they lose out on reaching an audience that has traditionally been marginalized in media. As Williams points out, "...using the same methods risk excluding a large percentage of people". In business, especially when that business is centered around media and it's different forms, reaching as many people as possible is imperative. Content drives viewership and viewership drives advertising. By creating content that can be used by not only those without disabilities but by those with them, the potential audience for the content can increase greatly. This is what makes the idea of Universal Design so interesting. While many seem to argue that true Universal Design may be unattainable, the effort to create content that is close, is a step in the right direction.

When we go out into the real world, we may be writing to an audience that is older, blind, deaf or even autistic. Our content needs to apply the ideals of Universal Design to make content that can reach as many of these different audiences as possible. Again, it may not be attainable. However, we need to try. Plus, 3 out of 4 from the list above isn't bad either. That number may fluctuate, but as we write we should be thinking somewhere in our brains, "what if a deaf person had to use this?" "if they wanted to, could they?". This type of thinking drives innovation in regards to how we cater to populations with disabilities.

This passage from Williams blows my mind. To think that a gif that is so small and basically invisible to me, a sighted person, is seen so clearly to a blind person is fascinating. This is a great example of how technology within in literature is changing the industry but also bringing in an audience that has been left behind. This aspect of Universal Design to me is fascinating because this is an actual application of Universal Design in a tangible way. To someone who can see, this is a normal website. But by adding small elements like a gif, someone who can't see is now able to skip ahead of content the way most of us skip immediately with our eyes. On top of that, the content can be read so quickly that even those of us who can hear, would find the content unintelligible.

In today's world of digital media and online content, writers need to write in a way that is respectful of the reader's time. As a sighted person, I can just scan a website for the information that I find pertinent. By adding this small gif, a blind person can now do the exact same thing and skip to the information they find pertinent. Many websites are not built this way, which means according to Williams, they have to sit through the content on a particular website as their screen reading software gives them a word for word description of a home page. Most people hate waiting for the different options when listening to an automated phone system, they probably haven't had to sit through a screen read of an older, text heavy website.

Technology is closing the gap between those who are disabled and those who are not. Our journey will be to continue to improve their lives by thinking of them when we are creating content and trying to reach for the largest audience bases we can.

This passage in the article details the benefits of Universal Design with a great, but simple example. Williams explains how the creation of a simple "curb cut" in a side walk that was created to assist people in wheel chairs could also have unintended benefits unknown to the creator.

Williams writes that curb cuts could also be used when, "making a delivery with a dolly...pulling luggage on wheels...pushing a child in a stroller". By trying to solve one problem, the curb cut actually solved numerous problems. Another example would be using captions and an accompanying transcription for a video. While the captions and transcriptions help the deaf watch the video, they also increase search optimization as well as helping non-disabled users understand the content even better.

So while we can solve one problem by applying universal design, we may also be able solve problems we didn't even think about just by being open to trying something new and different. As technical writers we should keep this open minded approach and try to see what we do from the point of view of the user.

I find this passage intriguing on a few levels. The first is that the improvements in how those with disabilities interact with different forms of media has come from the business world. That shouldn't be too surprising since they are in the business of making money and in this specific case, helping to improve the lives of those who may not be able to hear or see. Making "significant progress in meeting the needs of such users" is in their best interest. This opens up their companies' products to new audiences that had not been catered to previously. This connects with the article by Goddard and Hsy as they seem to be making a connection between the advancement in technology and the advancement Universal Design. By making an article (this one is a great example) interactive and as user friendly to as many audiences as possible, they are creating a path for more profit.

The second is the notion that scholars involved in the humanities are lagging behind in the creation of or application of digital products that could help those affected by a disability. To me, I would expect this group to be leading the charge of advancement. Of course, there could be many reasons for this. One is funding. A University is not quite a business (that line is blurred) and does not operate necessarily like a business. Departments have budgets and the professors do what they can with what they have. I would assume many tech forward (rich) universities have made an effort to cater to groups with disabilities. However, there other universities that may not have the same budget and are thus forced to use the technology they have handy, which may be a textbook and a power point presentation.

For both groups, their work needs to reach as many people and audiences as possible for it have the best possible results. Whether that is research about the hearing impaired or a physical product to help the blind read the same article, the more audiences they can include, especially with disabilities, the better.

As technology advances further, I believe we will see content being shared on more devices than ever. I believe that Williams is right in his assertion that "...applying universal design principles to digital resources will make those resources more compatible..." I found this interesting since much of my own writing on the subject thus far has been focused on how universal design can help different special needs communities. However, what I have been missing all together is how universal design can help make content more accessible to other groups as well.

Smith points out later that, "...those more likely to use a mobile device for online access include African Americans, Hispanics, and individuals from lower income households." When we are applying universal design to our content and strategy we need to be thinking about other devices than just a laptop or desktop computer. A cellphone may be someones only connection to the internet and the content needs to be accessible to them as well.

In our own service learning project, we saw that the functionality and design of Center Civic Innovation's website was a bit clunky. However, just for fun we decided to see what the site looked like on a cell phone. To our surprise, the functionality was better! So after reading this article, that makes sense and in our work for the Center for Civic Innovation in the future we will need to be cognizant as to how our content functions on other devices.

Universal Design as mentioned in the article is a concept centered around the idea of designing all products and environments to be usable to as many people as possible. Universal Design is also a theme that runs through the Goddard and Hsy article as well. From these two articles, when finding ways to improve access to technology for people with disabilities, Universal Design has to be a part of the discussion.

Audiences are the most important aspect of creating content. We need to know who we are writing for and make sure our content can be easily accessed by that audience. As we have learned, we want to reach as many different audiences as possible so that our writing can be as effective as possible. We have also discussed how adding as many modes as possible to our work can increase the effectiveness of our work. All of these elements lend perfectly to assisting those with disabilities.

If we are increasing accessibility we should be planning on how we could potentially help those with special needs. They are a part of "all people" as mentioned in the article. I would think being able to reach special needs audiences could make a writer very marketable since many writers may think of audience in terms of race, age, sex and education.

So, does the anthologize tool help the blind people? If so, how? I don't quite understand what this anthologize tool does. According to a previous section in this article, anthologize "transforms WordPress 3.0 into a platform for publishing electronic texts"(Williams). So, it converts texts into readable versions? Anthologize can transfer texts into a format called XML that "work with digital talking book devices or with braille output devices"(Williams). This tool makes it easier for blind people read a book or text. But, what is an XML format?http://www.w3schools.com/xml/xml_whatis.asp This link shows what is an XML format, what is does, and how it does it. XML is a software and hardware tool that is used for storing and transporting data. It stands for Extensible Markup Language. XML simplifies a lot of things like data sharing, data transport, platform changes, and data availability.

I agree with this statement. I believe that people who are thinking about innovating new things that they should always think about everyone instead of just focusing about a particular audience. For example when making new phones, the inventors should think about the people who are semi-blind or fully blind and make phones where both the screen and the words on the screen are big enough for those people to see them. We should always refer to the biggest audience possible in our minds when we are making new designs on new objects. This is one way that we can improve the world, so that people with or without disabilities can live in harmony.

This is a definition for universal design. Universal design is the idea of designing all products for people despite their age, ability, or status in life. I believe that we need to focus a lot on this concept. Everyone should be able to have access on a product without having to worry about what their age is, what they are able to do, or how wealthy they are. Innovators should develop more products that are accessible to everyone instead of just a particular audience.

This section of the article is very interesting. It is saying that something that is created to assist a disabled person to make their life easier may not be pleasing or may not help people who are not disabled. And something that has a universal design, is made for everyone. Everyone can use a universal design, but the design that is made for disabled people might only be usable for them and not for everyone. This part of the article is stating the difference for a design that is specifically made for the disabled and a design that is made for everyone.

I agree with this statement. Universal design is not only efficient to those people who are disabled; it is efficient for everyone to use. An example of an universal design mentioned in a previous section of this article would be the automatic garage door. It is affordable and easily accessible for people with or without disabilities. With a click of just one button, the garage door will close by itself. You don't have to walk up to the garage door and use your hands to push it down. The automatic garage door is efficient is that it closes your garage door for you without you having to waste any of your energy. It's productive without you having to do anything for it.

This reason states that applying universal design principles also helps digital resources more suited with multiple devices. Some online resources in the world only work on a desktop or laptop computer. Universal design principles can make online resources compatible with not only your computer, but with a phone, tablet, or any other mobile device. This way you can go to the online resource without having to bring a laptop. You can just search it on your phone or tablet.

Research on this topic is only founded and enforced by combining the universes of academia and workforce. This discussion will create more foundation indicators and expectations for reusing work, and would do wonders for removing the stigma attached to reusing work. Ultimately, there should be more interaction and awareness in the academic community about the modern uses of information.

I wonder if the school policies around the country are like those in Georgia, where the code of ethics includes strict plagiarism terms. In our common case, it becomes difficult to clearly and uniformly handle plagiarism for your class. I wonder how much of the confusing and vague plagiarism dialogue is pushed by the governing bodies of the school to enforce a definition that allows a more systematic way of handling students.

Scenarios help illustrate the grey nature of plagiarism. The brand of plagiarism changes with any given situation, and often mocks the scenarios of many ethical conundrums. Ultimately, it becomes skewed by intent and practice.

In order to correctly understand and contribute to the creative community, the discussion of re-use is necessary. There is more to plagiarism beyond reusing material, it encompasses intent, audience, the field's given experience, and consideration of the end product. It could be that using other work is not plagiarism because the end product is unique and original content.

This conflict is an ever present debate in our public schools: Should we inform students more on real world practices or should we instruct principles that are the rooted theories of the expectation in the real world? Again, we see educational pedagogies, particularly influenced by Pablo Freire, find roots within Technical Writing and training.

I slightly disagree with the correlation between Internet and plagiarism. I feel like students get in trouble with Internet sources because of improper citations/reference to ownership. To combat this, students should become more familiar on how to attribute ownership. To combat this, I agree with Reyman later in the paper under the Plagiarism and the Internet header later in this article. She mentions the need for the issue to be addressed in textbooks. More information should be available to students on how to combat plagiarism.

How we approach technical writing can also be applied to creative/fiction writing. Both reuse material and remix texts. Genres in both types of writing are constantly be reused, remixed, and reformatted to generate a stronger user/reader base.

This is something I have never considered before. Do different cultures see ownership and plagiarism differently?

Different disciplines, which could be extrapolated to be a culture (?), have different standards when it comes to showing ownership. that is why we have different style guides and manuals like MLA, APA. Chicago style, AP, etc.

I like how this article makes many contrasting points between the academic context of plagiarism and the technical communication context of plagiarism. This passage is another contrasting point.

Information reused, or used in multiple ways would more often than not be a no-no in the academic context. One cannot even reuse their own work in a different way than originally intended (say, a student writes a paper in a class and wants to use the same paper in another class). Reusing one's own work is known as self-plagiarism, or double-dipping for slang terminology.

Honorary authorship relates to what we are doing now in our service learning projects.

Think about authorship as larger entity. Many technical communicators create content that represents the company, and presents the company as the author of the work. It is important for us to consider representing the company(or client) as the author versus presenting ourselves as the author; while still representing ourselves in our work.

Plagiarism. (n.d.) In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/view/Entry/144939?redirectedFrom=plagiarism#eid

"The action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own; literary theft"

Plagiarism is something colleges and universities are increasingly vigilant about. Even Georgia State University (GSU) has a reference to their academic honor code included in every syllabus for every class that a student attends.

It is important to recognize the timing of this section (2007) and the modern attempts to rectify these issues. Now it is incredibly easy to search for commercially or educationally safe images for presentation and use by simply checking a box on most image searches (i.e google presentation image search). As far as copying and pasting sections into a project to pass as original work, that hasn't worked in years. There are checking sites, which are previously mentioned in this article, as well as the availability of the internet for the reviewers. It's far easier to detect information that is inserted into a project than it is to make your entire project sound the same as copied material without seeming plagarized.

Again, we're revisiting the idea that traditional forms of plagarism are always with unethical intent and outcome. This seems to be the overarching theme of the source materials in this article, which the author argues against.

The phrase "single sourcing" is also unfamiliar to me (from my disciplinary focus in school and work context so far), it looks like single sourcing is an important activity for technical writers and those that work in a corporate industry. I found a website that I think explains the concept well. It allows workers to reuse information and materials without plagiarism consequences, and it also allows companies to save some funds by being able to reuse materials.

I think this is an interesting term, I have never seen it used outside of a laboratory discipline; it seems to be a slang term for formulaic writing. After seeing the definition this context makes sense to me, it would be standardized sections, or as the bullet says, a template of sorts.

Boilerplate. (n.d.) In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/view/Entry/21014?redirectedFrom=boilerplate#eid17056945

Stereotyped or formulaic writing

I can see how sites like this can be beneficial; however, I think it is more beneficial for the student to have a basis of knowledge on how to properly give reference or citation to the work they incorporate into their academic papers (by using the appropriate style manual of their discipline). Human working knowledge is more malleable than Internet service knowledge; sites and information on the Internet can be misleading or misunderstood. I think sites like this should be used as a supplement, not as something students depend on to combat plagiarism.

I haven't seen any of my peers face public criticism, but the most recent news coverage I have seen dealing with plagiarism was in regards to Melania Trump (during her speech back in July 2016) when news journalists compared her speech to first lady Michelle Obama's speech from 2008.

Here is a Time article about the situation that occurred: http://time.com/4413098/melania-trump-speech/

Another interesting point to consider with this plagiarism issue is the complex role of authorship. Melania did not write the speech (the speech writer did); however, Melania and Donald Trump are the ones who ended up looking bad as the situation unfolded. With that said, this situation illustrates the importance of revision and draft checks before delivering a product (in this case a speech) to a large user base. It is a situation that we as technical writers and students can learn from: we must check and re-check our drafts before we give our audience (specifically our service learning clients) final pieces for submission.

Reference the plagiarism section in Georgia State University's policy on academic honesty: http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfhb/sec409.html

Section 409.02.A: "Plagiarism is presenting another person's work as one's own. Plagiarism includes any paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another student's work as one's own. Plagiarism frequently involves a failure to acknowledge in the text, notes, or footnotes the quotation of the paragraphs, sentences, or even a few phrases written or spoken by someone else. The submission of research or completed papers or projects by someone else is plagiarism, as is the unacknowledged use of research sources gathered by someone else when that use is specifically forbidden by the faculty member. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of one's reliance on other sources is also a form of plagiarism. Any work, in whole or in part, taken from the Internet or other computer-based resource without properly referencing the source (for example, the URL) is considered plagiarism. A complete reference is required in order that all parties may locate and view the original source. Finally, there may be forms of plagiarism that are unique to an individual discipline or course, examples of which should be provided in advance by the faculty member. The student is responsible for understanding the legitimate use of sources, the appropriate ways of acknowledging academic, scholarly or creative indebtedness, and the consequences of violating this responsibility."

This is an interesting thought, considering the internet has curated a boom of user-generated content.

This conclusion succintly ties up the issues brought up in the previous annotation. There are grey areas that make up reusing information such as intent and purpose. Rhetorically, this is a complcated issue because of the ultimate goal of communicating to an audience. Is there an inherent negative to communicating to your audience with avenues that are already successful?

At this point, the arguement seems to be more about the moral meaning of theft. This particular sentence mentions the inherent understanding that plagarism is unethically intended.

This piece is an important thought process through the reflection of ownership and plagarism outside of the acedemic context because the rules are not always spelled out. The practices of using materials become complicated across fields as citing sources become more difficult with multiple authors and mediums.

When it comes down to who owns material, is it who the material was created for or the original author? Perhaps each party has rights to the material, which complicates the issue of plagarism and content control

This is a major component of understanding the complexities of plagarism in Technicial Writing. Reusability of your material does not mean that you, the author, will be reusing it... It could be completely detached from you in the future, melded into a new piece.

Technical writing is more about catering to the clients' needs than the acedemic emphasis of creating unique content. Many of us have experienced this difference in our projects this semester. Many groups are repackaging the information we were already given-- and are even manipulating layouts given to us. In an acedemic setting, this is a pretty clear case of plagarism, but in the technical writing world this is an inevitable way to efficiently do your job.

Again, this position is experienced through our Service Learning Projects. At first, we all experienced the individual aspect of curating work with our pitch presentation. Now, as we are venturing into the deliverable phase of the project, we are utilizing different members to create well rounded material. This can clearly complicate the ideas of plagarism, as we all are working on the same piece in our portfolios.

Although history tries to portray technical writing as a property solely for the workplace, Durack is proving that the users of this sort of writing can stretch across many different platforms in many different day-to-dy activities that, ironically were often carried out by women.

In an even more ironic twist that makes the earlier thoughts on technical writing obsolete is the fact that the workplace can barely defined in today's age, too. Then, there was a set place for men and women in society, where men went put to work and women stayed in to tend to household duties. Nowadays, there are beginning to be a lot more "work from home jobs" which make it more difficult to place gender roles on technologies.

The first reason Durack gives as to why there aren't many women or work from women mentioned in the history of technical writing could be because the world is mostly driven by a male dominated society, so the works of women would not even be considered as valid and be quickly dismissed. This seems ideal since the overlooking of women throughout history has been prominent throughout many cultures and societies.

The second possible reason is given not to the idea that a woman's idea was never used, but maybe the historian failed to acknowledge that the idea came from a woman. This could be caused by the way we define things and the way in which we see gender through our "cultural blinders", with women being inferior to men. In order to digest the full history of technical writing, these preconcieved notions would have to be ignored.

Before the past of technical writing can be examined, the actual definition of what it is must be discussed. The major characteristics involve technology, work, and the workplace. But because these words cannot always be defined with just one definition, what is considered technical writing becomes clouded, which makes it even more difficult to find a woman's role in this history.

Technology competence was even measured differently between male and females, which proves that the definition of technology varied amongst the genders and put women on the tail-end of technology and its advancement. They may have known how how to work the machinery, but did not possess the skills to know how the machine actually worked.

The feminists critics of technology show that the definition of technology was also shaped by these cultural blinders just for the simple fact that women did not even possess the knowledge and materials to successfully be inventors or innovators in any processes of technology. And the fact that it was seen as "what men do" could be deeply rooted in the simple fact that much of it was what women could not do.

The industrial revolution continued to polarize what was appropriate for what men could do and what women could do. And because the workforce was where moeny was earned and was seen as place for men, women's household duties generally found no type of spotlight.

In addition to ideas and inventions brought forth by women being ignored, any invention that tended to a woman's needs or duties were also not as important. Although the baby bottle was a popular, almost necessary invention, it would generally be omitted from important parts of history simply for the fact that he involved labors of women and not "work".

Money and education were typically a rare part of a woman's life in that day. Even the attitudes of giving that were expected of women were all major factors in patents of important technologies and attributions were usually given to men. So even though women were not mentioned in these histories, does not mean they did not play a major part in them.

This concludes the workplace's significance to women in modern and past life. It explains that is mandatory to reflect on the past to establish the significance of women's technical work, for most earlier days home and workplace were principal centers of production.In addition it raises lieu to the dynamics of the future home office where it makes business and child rearing more easily accessible and useful for both men and women considering technical work and technical business.

This raises significance in technical works and technical documentations that are used through the household. Some include billing statements, instruction manuals, card statements, and tax and insurance forms, and more. Although these are private matters these are still significant importance.Many of us depend heavily on such matters, and today these are still very much useful in many systems including medical, judicial, and economic activity. However since this is a woman's historical work it is seemed as insignificant and unprofound.

Gives major reasons as to why women are excluded from technology including the gender division of labor, defining technical competence as male oriented, gender prejudices and stereotypes of women, and historical barriers that still exist in gender including behaviors, roles, and duties. Where men are the masters and behind the operations with the "knowledge", women are subjects of use, seen as the "Know-How". In addition it gives the perspective that competence is a male dominance subject. Competence is not related to skillful use, although it takes much competence to do much skill related work. It shows that women and women's work is devalued and under-appreciated.

Gives historical evolutions of men and women's experiences through the work and the workplace. Moving toward the industrial revolution goals and duties of gender gradually started changing but women and men's main objective was financial gain, and that meant workplaces for women outside the usual household. For men work was still considered a "place" but for women there was much production that took place within the household, labeling it the "domain". Furthermore it delegated appropriate work roles for men and women in addition to establishing sexual division labor to society during the time.

This statement supports the claim of how the perspective of women's contributions has had insignificance even though their contributions have been all and useful in everyday households, work, and workplaces. It also suggests the normal perspective of the word "technology" seeing it as male suited are. Through this perspective it downplays women and their historical contributions in technical communications and dominance. Although the contributions may be quite different that does not make them insignificant.

To challenge assumptions for why their are exclusions of women and women's work one must give notification of women's identity, their works, and raise awareness of how their woks have fit into history. Most of the time there has been female contributions in technical works, and those names go unmentioned. To undo this formality we must give credit where it is due, and raise awareness to the trivia and issues.

This statement also acts to question why women's achievements to technical communication/writing have been far shunned.

This statement makes claims that throughout history it has been mans objective to keep women inferior by excluding them from political and public matters. Some examples include right to vote, right to own property, equal pay, and overall social opportunities. Such public matters are considered to be of extreme importance, some of which we've fought for through civil rights movements.This is very important to note because it shows a historical background where men have opted women out, and the tradition is to follow for our present and future.

This statement gives two assumptions to why women and womens work could be excluded. There is (1) Agency and (2) Products that the author takes into consideration. However significance within the two subjects relies heavily resulting in ways that men dominate in the public realms rather than the private realms. It also gives the perspective that women are inferior in the technical world and are not seen as significant agents and also suggests that women can not produce significant products within technical works.

This statement raises lieu to the idea of the problem. The problem of women's contributions being overlooked can not just be easily answered by numbers. The issue has to not just be studied but assessed and analyzed. Due to historical cultural and gender barriers between women and men issues have to be further examined through certain lenses to reflect and conclude.

This claim gives another reason as to why women's contributions may have been shadowed or overlooked in technical and scientific work. Historians functioned to hide the female perspective due to male dominance. Even when there is female technical contributions of significance of the recognition will go unnoticed. But this was not at all historical reality where women did have great dominance in many writings and still to continue.

This claim gives one possibility into why women's contributions to technical and scientific work may have been blinded or overlooked. Women's primary role and duties as mother and household have not changed much from earlier days to today. However there are dynamics that exist amid in today's society, through this claim is still a primary reason for the absence of women's contributions.

This suggests that competence is a male dominance subject. Competence is not related to skillful use. It shows that women ands women's work is devalued and underappreciated.

Adds to the downplay of women and their historical contributions in technical communications and dominance.

This statement supports the claims that women and women's work has been obscured in historical technical achievements due to misclassified, trivialized, or attributions to men. In addition it gives lieu to the fact that women are not perceived to have as credible or significant inventions as men.

This supports the claim that history in subject is deeply gendered, leaning in a way that is mostly always favorable towards men.

This adds to the support]of why women have been absent in technical and scientific work due to women's role and responsibilities, indifference with men.

Great abstract, gives reader a good synopsis about further reading.

Also great synopsis answering deeper context.

Certiorari. (n.d.) In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/29997?redirectedFrom=certiorari#eid.

A writ, issuing from a superior court, upon the complaint of a party that he has not received justice in an inferior court, or cannot have an impartial trial, by which the records of the cause are called up for trial in the superior court.

Technical communicators shape society through their field by shaping the way information is interpreted by society. I support this opinion because they provide points of view in their work that others might not have thought of and help jumpstart the intellectual process or problem-solving process for those who use their work.

An example of this would be someone using a help-guide for a computer they bought. They don't know how to solve the issue themselves, they read the guide, they process that information and they apply it to their problem.

I spoke about this in an earlier annotation.

https://hyp.is/nGM5ko1zEea7l-sAygH0WA/techwritingf16.robinwharton.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/TH_Unit2.pdf

Works created within the scope of employment or works-for-hire are not protected under copyright law for the author, but rather for who it was created for.

I find this interesting because it seems that their job as technical communicators, working for the government, can ultimately affect the way people feel about the government.

For example, automated phone answering systems for government entities ask questions to help direct phone traffic to the appropriate department. I assume that technical communicators help to determine the questions ask, how they should be worded and what information should be requested before being dispatched to wherever the callers end up going.

Technical communicators author works that are used by the masses because they are effective at explaining and delivering information in a way that most people will understand. Having an avenue to share their opinions (democratic interaction) on how to solve issues, supports the talent they developed to effectively communicate (self-actualization).

I also think its important to consider if work created within someone's scope of employment, rather than for individual creative purposes, could even be seen as copyrightable. The text refers to it, rather, as a "corporate commodity."

In the Unit 1 readings, we attacked usability and suggested creating one standard set of instructions to measure it. This conflicts with this reading which suggests using one set of standard instructions across the field of technical communication could be considered a copyright issue.

Nation Enterprises' use of the of the 400 words was not fair use because of the effect it could have potentially had on the free market.

If this book would have become a NYT best seller, they would have ultimately been stealing money from a potential project of the original creator, because although they hadn't thought to use the original work in that medium, how do you know that they never would have? It infringed on Harper's right to potentially create a derivative work.

The field of technical communication replicates that of a democracy because the most effective technical communication initiatives are done attacked as a team. Each communicator within the team uses their voice to offer suggestions and opinions, which is similar to how a democracy is run.

The most evident way that the intellectual property clause could impact technical communicators would probably be the impact it would have on interdisciplinary collaborations. Technical communicators have the privilege of being in a field that embraces the use of others ideas, solutions, deliveries, etc. because multiple scenarios could warrant similar, if not the same, resolution.

The intellectual property clause prohibits intellectual property from being treated as physical property that can be "controlled or owned by one to the detriment of another."

This is interesting to me because this is how patents are controlled. Patents can be held for 20 years and are controlled by the owner during that time, granting the freedom to do whatever they like at that time. A good example of this would be the pharmaceutical industry. Companies who create pharmaceuticals can hold patents for specific types of drugs allowing them to be the sole producer and seller of that drug. As a result, the company can sell the drug at whatever price they would like because they know consumers will have to buy it from them.

Most copyrighted material, unless under special circumstance, is protected for the time span of the author's life plus 70 years. After this, the material can be used by anyone.

I think it's beneficial to society to have a time limit on copyrighted materials because it provides the opportunity for the work to be improved or a derivative work to be produced.

Giving away more American jobs to robots.

This engagement of concrete problems is done by asking thought provoking question, which make the student provide a deeper analysis of the problem. It's not enough to provide a "yes" or "no"answer for a solution to a problem

The complexity of this problem causes a chain reaction which effects the whole world not only the gulf. Gas prices start to increase and oil miners have to find new resources of oil

Wisdom= Spark in taking action.Once you understand the savarity of the problem it becomes harder to ignore.

Wow this is so true. Now I understand why we are going to have real life clients in this class! https://alexandragetsreal.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/shitgotreal.jpg

Overall skeleton of this article. Pretty much enough said

Interesting. In the medical sense hemorrhaging is a term used to described mass amounts of blood loss but here it's used to describe the catastrophic oil spill

Overall this article is about how real life problems affect everyone else indirectly or directly. Wickman used the example of the Gulf oil spill to cover many avenues of wickedness. It was explained that the ruptured well of the Gulf was unpredictable and unpreventable means of other problems that arise from offshore drilling. Part of the article that caught my attention was when Wickman made clear that in class learning and experience can be used in the real world. It's true that as a student we're taught to study for a grade and not understanding. This article allowed me to realize that sometimes a solution to a problem doesn't necessarily fix the greater issue but temporarily corrects an unintended accident.

Just a few of the consequences reported to the media. I wonder if there was more than 11 deaths????

This also reflects how Wickman sees technical communication as an area in which people with different skill sets work with one another with a common goal in mind, in this example cleaning up the coastal oil spill. Wickman also describes how the context of the problem was a complex one that didn't have one simple and concrete solution but different disciplines working together. This also reflects how the author sees problem solving in general with some problems having solutions and some being more difficult to resolve resulting in contrasting people working on the same project.

This is definitely true in the context of the oil spill. If the spill wasn't stopped as soon as possible the situation would get worse. By stressing the importance of each action I think the author is also emphasizing how important the thinking before an action takes place is. I think it's interesting how Wickman sees solutions and critical thinking as both important measures to take before action but also promoting action itself, like in the socially active example Wickman gives.

Praxis. (n.d.) In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/view/Entry/149425?redirectedFrom=praxis#eid

"Action or practice; spec. the practice or exercise of a technical subject or art, as distinct from the theory of it; (also) accepted or habitual practice or custom."

The full pdf of Bakhtin's writting - "The Problem of Speech Genres"(https://livelongday.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/bakhtinspeechgenres.pdf)

how to use communication effectively.

Definition: (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/taxonomy)

Here, you can see the possibilities of why students are having literacy problems be examined more closely.

This sentence supports my argument that their is a reason students aren't comprehending and communicating efficently. This could be a possible reason why there is an apparent literacy problem among college students.

Maybe we can take into consideration that the students are having trouble comprehending certain materials because of the way they are being taught. Their lack of communication skills are stemming from somewhere...

multiteracies

From analyzing the ten people's backgrounds, they are all from English speaking, first-world countries. Although they can communicate and share ideas in a less constrained way with each other, they purpose of expanding literary pedagogy would be troublesome if they wished help people from non-English speaking backgrounds as well as people from developing countries.

(https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pedagogy)

the principles and methods of instruction

This is one of the examples of situated practice in writing. Humans learn through experience and through the community in which they live.

When I think of this I think of Greek epic poems like the Illiad and Odyssey

Teachers are starting to become more adaptable with teaching using technology.Its funny how its almost impossible to avoid technology because its so omnipresent.

This is very prevalent today as technical writing is changing along with technology.

The section of the article talks about the changing dynamics of the of the capitalistic world and how it is starting to incorporate more work input and values, and moving toward multiskilled workers. I believe this holds very true today because of how the corporate world is changing and how much more flexible workers have to be.

Cms writing is difficult and one needs to learn how to adapt to different writing styles. Sometimes the data base may seem less user friendly because of how difficult it is to constantly changes writing practices to fit the framework

This is a great argument Clark raises as we advance in technical communication some believe that form should be free, however these are norms that we have not yet escaped in rhetorical literacy. There are still rules in literacy that one must follow no matter the advancements in technical communication, and we must not escape the basis as they are foundations for learning.

Tech writing instructs one to learn and to make assessments collaboratively. The learn to go beyond book usage and use each other a resources.

This is a reply to demah007 as she says..."What type of information should the business include that will also help its users"

and I replied..."This too also focuses on what we have been expressing in class, as technical writing is about the audience..."it is not about you".

Interesting to think about, because we do not think of form, when it comes to tech writing.

This reminds me of our discussion in class on how most of the user content that we use such as iCollege is really meant for the instructor and not always the student.

I have to admit before this class I was unaware of the topic so I add that this is really good idea to note for advancing in the content managing discourse. There should be better awareness of these ideas problems , and the question is how can and what is the best way to raise these questions, and to whom is the best or the mainly targeted audience that we must get through to, and etc

Tech writing teaches you how to collaborate and write for others. Its interesting to think about how your writing is part of a big archive that will help people.

What type of information should the business include that will also help its users

This is important to remember because it is true. Again I think often times in tech writing and writing in general we lose focus on who the audience is and what information will be useful to them. Sometimes people don't want the the run around on how to get something done. Most people just want to get to the point.

This argument is good for the new age, as we need better ways to reach and relate to businesses to help them prosper and grow. Through technical communication individuals will find the best and most effective way to inform and involve audiences of business, organizations, and medias. With constant change of communication, which is mandatory for rhetorical literacy, businesses will advance and continue to grow through engagement. One cannot strive without the other, furthermore embracing interconnectivity in the technical communication world.

This statement refers to Schryer's article in which the students didn't have the literacy skills anticipated by the professors at the veterinary school. Students don't practice their writing skills as often as they should and this hurts them in the end without them realizing it. I didn't even realize the importance of writing skills in the medical field and after reading these articles I see that strong literacy skills are important in all fields. Mediocre won't always pass because if people cannot communicate with you effectively, they won't want to work with you.

Sometimes we need to understand how technology will affect technical communication for the improvement of our society and not just the current situation we are in. These technological improvements are improving the world as a whole.

We rely on technology too much to where if the internet stopped working, we would not be able to function for awhile. It would take us awhile to recover from the network failure.

WIll the teaching of the specific softwares help the majority of students with their goals? It could be beneficial to few, but it may not be to the majority.

Often, we don't realize how we switch tools and resources because technology is evolving so fast and not everyone will want to use the same software and it would take too much time to repeatedly go over different softwares.

This is similar to what we discussed in class. We mentioned that different platforms or genres of writing is still considered writing. Just because the way it was communicated is different doesn't mean it isn't writing.

Communicators and Professionals have developed due to the advancement of technological. The easiest, tedious work can now be accomplished by computers that way we don't have to worry about it.

The author is trying to promote growth in the field of technology by developing awareness of the changes. If you educate the people, they are more inclined to understand be content or even excited about change.

The way technology is viewed was how it fit into what was going on in that moment and no one seemed to be concerned about how far advanced technology could bring them. I think we still have these views because we are stuck on how things are supposed to be and change is hard to grasp.

Again, this is where rhetoric/dialectic process comes into play. Everyone in the same team should be able to go back and forth with their ideas and inputs in order to generate a consensus that allows the tech to reach a wide variety of audiences. What good does an amazingly written instruction manual do if nobody is actually reading it and putting it to use?

Technology is growing larger and changing more every day. Since technical writing first came out so much has changed, which most likely means that there is not just one way of doing things. It will take sometime before technical writing is concrete.

One main purpose of tech writing is using multimodal communication in order to reach a variety of potential audiences. This can be done using a dialectic process to make information more accessible without oversimplifying it. Perhaps stick to one genre in order to figure out what will work and then by testing and prototyping the tech in multiple scenarios, you can infer what audiences it reaches.

Observation is effective because the researcher can observe the user directly. In market research, users are typically placed in a room with a two-sided mirror, a camera, and sound recorder; this allows the researchers to observe the users in a separate location -- allowing the users to feel more comfortable and less pressured as they complete the tasks at hand. Hopefully, if the users are more comfortable and in a relaxed setting, they will provide useful (and truthful) feedback.

I think this is because the survey and interview questions might be too generalized, and doesn't allow for precise answers from the users. Also, users might fabricate their answers, or alter them in a way they think will please the surveyor/interviewer/tester.

Technical communicators process expert level information/knowledge into something that can be more easily accessed by a general audience. I like that Sullivan used the word "empathy" here. It suggests that technical communicators have a gift for connecting with users and understanding what they need.

Things to keep in mind about market research(from my work experience in market research): oftentimes, the product-specific interest is also customer specific. Examples of customer specificity include projects that target loyal-brand only customers, and projects that target unaware-only customers. Focus groups are coordinated through set parameters: customer preferences, demographics, personality, and purchase habits.

This type of usability test certainly does apply to the process of technical communication, because one thing is key: the audience. For marketers, the audience is the specific customer base; for technical communicators, the audience is also who will use their product.

This can be compared to what was read in Wickman's Wicked Problems article. He stated that the different groups from the class approached the Gulf oil spill in a different way. He had groups made up of different disciplines and groups made up of similar disciplines. Both types of groups approached the problem in a way that aligned with their strengths and personal interests. The same applies to usability studies in that there are multiple ways to approach the same topic.

Wickman, C. (2014). Wicked Problems in Technical Communication. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 44(1), 23-42. doi:10.2190/tw.44.1.c

Both Sullivan and Wickman utilize steps (and plans of action) when approaching their research. Likewise, both authors utilize frameworks in their research.

Part of becoming an effective technical communicator is to plan ahead. Time constraints are real, and it is important to give yourself enough time to write and re-write your works.

As writers in technical communication, our work is audience centered. Therefore, it makes sense for technical communicators to be involved in expanded usability, because we focus on what is best for our audience. Expanded usability testing can ensure that we reach our primary and secondary audiences in a more exact way. It might also expand the accidental, or unintentional audiences too. However, it is always most important to target products at your primary and secondary audience members.

In general, the need for usability testing is expanding. Our world is growing more diverse, and the types of audiences we have at our fingertips are expanding. Usability testing can greatly benefit users that are often times neglected; an example of this would be users with disabilities. An applicable example of this issue occurred today (09.06.16): Hulu has agreed to expand its closed captioning programs due to in-accessibility (and great upset) from deaf individuals and The National Association of the Deaf.

NAD, A. (2016, September 06). The NAD and Hulu Reach Agreement. Retrieved September 06, 2016, from https://nad.org/news/2016/9/nad-and-hulu-reach-agreement

Because each individual user approaches the product in an individual way. Usability testing does not have one solution, and user accessibility cannot be understood after one test. The can be compared to Chad Wickman's Wicked Problems in Technical Communication. The problem of the Gulf oil spill did not have one solution to it -- it had many -- and of the many, the solutions still had to be revised over and over again.

Wickman, C. (2014). Wicked Problems in Technical Communication. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 44(1), 23-42. doi:10.2190/tw.44.1.c

All in all, I think this lengthy written work by Schryer is a way of finding connections between record-keeping and genre via rhetorical analysis, studies, and hard,cold facts. I like that Schryer incorporated evidence with studies that have been done, and examples from their own research.

Genre - current significant action. I think in writing this is a good definition. I would personally define it as a niche that writing, art, or any other medium falls under. This could be singular or plural, as we discussed in class that genre and medium are not interchangeable.

When genres are viewed from a rhetorical as well as a dialectical and dialogic perspective, they then become ways to theorize about complex, evolving discourse practices. I think this is a great way to showcase the positive effects of genre in rhetoric.

More important, as teachers of writing, particularly at the advanced level, we can teach our students of examine critically the genres that both constitute....

I think this is very important for professors to know. By allowing students to bring in information from various genres, we can create an atmosphere that is diverse and beautiful.

Schryer discusses medical recordkeeping as a genre that reflects and influences the medical field's ideology. The records serve as an indicator of relevant ideas and what the field values. We observe how the development of the genre shifted how the students observational styles and recordkeeping.

The genre topic serves as a parallel to rhetoric and modes. All concepts are dynamic in an evolving world and reflect the needs of the group that utilizes them. Thus, we also know that rhetoric and modes have the ability to reflect and influence our own ideologies.

I think this talk about medical records is somewhat accurate, as they are known to have flaws in their organization. This is why electronic records with accurate information is key.

The medical recordkeeping genre reflects the needs of the community by developing POMVR; this style encourages the audience to observe and think about their observations in a certain fashion and demonstrates how change in rhetoric/mode can influence a group's ideology. Thus, we observe how modes functions as an indication of evolution and communication.